The Georgetown Mayor and City Council is working with the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) to help businesses develop better waste disposal systems, as the City battles a serious waste disposal problem. 

In addition to the failure of some waste disposal contractors to remove garbage in a timely manner, the City Council is also battling with the age-old issue of the indiscriminate dumping of garbage by businesses in and around the city. 

On a daily basis, persons linked to several businesses can be seen dumping garbage along the city streets and even in drains.

City Mayor, Alfred Mentore said the issue came up for discussion during a recent meeting with the Chamber of Commerce, and it was agreed that the two sides will work to help businesses develop better waste disposal systems. 

He said the first step would be to ensure that all businesses operating in the city have garbage receptacles that match the magnitude of their businesses. 

“That’s something we will try to implement to have more persons or more businesses having a better garbage plan and packing their garbage so that the garbage people could pick it up. Not to be scattering it anywhere, and then somebody, some vagrant come along and also scatter it even further. So, these are some of the things we are working on. This is a collaborative approach,” Mayor Mentore said. 

The Mayor said in keeping with the country’s Environmental Laws, the Municipality, through the City Constabulary, has been placing offenders before the Court for littering in public spaces. 

He said in June, a total of 35 matters were presented before the Magistrates’ Court.

Ten persons were charged with the offence of littering, with one being fined the sum of $50,000 and another sentenced to two weeks community service. 

“I can safely say, we have a department dealing with that, we have a small department treating with it where the prosecuting section of the constabulary deals with this issue. We have been very vigilant in dealing with these matters, having those persons walk around and check what is going on, and ensure that on a daily basis we have people who are not doing the right thing, cause those persons to be prosecuted,” the Mayor said. 

However, he said while persons are being prosecuted in Court for littering, a collaborative approach is needed to address the problem that appears to be plaguing the entire country.

“It is a matter that we have to treat culturally, it is a matter that we have to look after and educate the people and it is a matter that we have to look to create more advocacy, and cause people to be able to do things differently, because at the end of the day, we are all in this together, and all hands must be on deck, if we want to find the real solution to this issue, and it is not about just pointing fingers at one set of people, when all of us is part of this, and all of us, have to find a solution,” he reasoned. 

Meanwhile, the City Council continues to work with a number of waste disposal companies to ensure that garbage receptacles around the city are emptied on time, and the streets are cleaned regularly. 

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