City Hall to address garbage-overwhelmed Stabroek Car Park

Dec 31, 2011 News

–as Solid Waste Director calls on citizens to be more responsible

Failure on the part of citizens to adopt an environmentally friendly attitude towards the city of Georgetown has left sections of the city in an unsightly state one day before 2011 comes to an end. One conspicuous section of the city which, up to yesterday afternoon, was plagued with a litter dilemma was the Stabroek Market car park. The hideous accumulation of garbage was a mere few centimeters away from a Police Outpost in the same parking lot.

Garbage piled up at the Stabroek Car Park yesterday.

However, the presence of the law officials served as no deterrent to those who opted to strew refuse across the area, which covered a significant portion of the public facility. According to Director of Solid Waste Management, Hubert Urlin, the Department is very much aware of the situation that has in recent times become a repetitive practice. He explained that although the Department has repeatedly raised concern about the situation, citizens have not been supporting the municipal’s efforts to ensure the city remains in an acceptable state. He disclosed too that while the City Constabulary is tasked with ensuring that persons refrain from littering the city, the limited resources of the municipality does not allow for continuous monitoring of the market area. It is the Director’s belief that the littering practice is not merely the activity of market vendors but rather persons from various sections of the city.
He revealed that efforts to keep some sections of the city free of garbage is further challenged by the fact that the municipality has not been able to retain the normal service of a private contractor, thus the bulk of the city cleansing is undertaken by the municipality resources. However, Urlin assured yesterday that every possible measure will be employed by the municipality in order to have the Stabroek Market area completely cleaned by Sunday. “We have already started making arrangements for it to be done over the weekend…up to last Sunday it was the same thing…We have been trying our best but the blame keeps coming right back to us…”
As a result, Urlin pointed to the need for citizens to be more responsible, adding that there is no way that the municipality can keep people from littering around the clock as it does not have unlimited resources to attend to such actions.
It was just recently that Public Relations Officer, Royston King, made reference to recycling as a new approach to Solid Waste Management an undertaking which, he said, is likely to be swiftly introduced in the New Year. According to him the strategic move is geared at helping to address the challenge of waste disposal currently facing the city entity. It has been for some time now that the municipality has been considering the new approach, King said, even as he pointed out that “in the area of solid waste management we have been looking at alternative approaches to garbage disposal.” Among the areas of consideration is that of the conversion of waste to organic fertilizer/manure which could see the municipality procuring a mulcher in order to deal with waste originating from trees around the city and it is also likely to entail the trimming of trees and packaging of same which can be purchased by citizens involved gardening activities. This strategic move, King said, is also likely to help the municipality to earn much needed revenue.
He said too that the Solid Waste Management Department is likely to get involved in the provision of animal foods also from the waste products that are accumulated in the market, which could also be another revenue earner. The effort by the municipality is also expected to include the recycling of plastic bottles and will not be limited to cardboards, King said, adding that “we are looking at alternative ways of disposing of our garbage so that we can have a savings and at the same time generate new money…” He revealed too that employing these strategic moves are essential as when the municipal operators go to the Haags Bosch landfill site “we also have to pay tipping fees. When our contractors pay tipping fees that is passed on to us and in turn passes on to citizens. If we can reduce the amount of waste that goes to the landfill site then we will reduce the amount of money we pay and at the same time generate new money when we look at alternative ways to deal with waste.” The ambitious alternative to disposal, according to King, is more than possible as needed facilities and materials are already available to the municipality.

3 thoughts on “City Hall to address garbage-overwhelmed Stabroek Car Park”

1938nat1911 December 31, 2011 at 6:24 am

It is pathetic to see so much garbage in such a prominent area, in front of Stabroek Market in blatant disregard for law and order. I cannot believe the law enforcement officers could not have seen a single person contravening the law. If no one is prosecuted for his/her wanton act of defiance of the law, those culpable will continue in their reprehensible behaviour.

The City Council should embark on a massive programme of recycling such items as plastic containers, papers, cardboards, empty tins and other items capable of being recycled. People should be encouraged to collect such items for a small payment and to deposit them at certain pre-arranged collection points. In certain underdeveloped countries many people are involved in the collection of such items to earn some money. I do not see why it cannot be done in Guyana. Once the proposed programme is implemented, there will be a much smaller quantity of garbage for disposal.
Truck777 December 31, 2011 at 11:57 am

What is the problem with waste management at the municipality level in Guyana? In all cities that I have lived in the USA there is a monthly sanitation, water and waste water/drainage bill that each business or household has to pay based on usage. These bills are calculated based on the costs for all of these services supported by a municipal budget. Property taxes are used for public transport, police, schools, parks and infrastructure. What is the system in Georgetown that causes so many problems with a balanced budget?
Dinky16 December 31, 2011 at 1:46 pm

There are laws in Guyana to deal with people who litter. Why can’t the authorities enforce these laws, continue to enforce them and get rid of these unsightly piles that say only negative things about our beautiful country.