Dear Editor,
If we hold it to be true that newspapers are the mirrors of societies then the photograph of the large accumulations of garbage in the city on the front page of your Stabroek News issue of November 11, 2013, really captured the enormous challenge faced by the Mayor and City Council, and supplied an image of a struggling municipality and an unhealthy environment. Indeed, we, at City Hall, are struggling to provide this core service ‒ garbage collection and disposal ‒ to citizens who live in Georgetown and the transient tens of thousands from rural areas, who visit the city for business or pleasure on a daily basis.
The situation is aggravated by the lack of attention by some citizens to their garbage disposal habits; a high level of indiscipline on the part of some citizens; inadequate enforcement of compliance with the relevant by-laws; the termination of the services of two of our solid waste contractors by the Town Clerk (ag); infrequent collection service in certain areas; inadequate and improper storage of garbage by some businesses; lack of garbage receptacles in some yards; heavy rains; overtopping in some communities; the careless storage of building materials; improperly constructed bridges; inappropriate uses of parapets and other reserves; the distance to and time of closing of the Haags Bosch landfill site; the absence of a recycling plant in the city; inadequate solid waste infrastructure and a forever poverty stricken city council.
Indeed, no section of the city has been spared this environmental nuisance. This has serious implications for the health of our city and nation.
The city generates about 196 tons of garbage a day in normal times and an additional 60 tons during the festive season. The Council collects 95% of this waste on a daily basis. The remaining 5% is left in the environment. The gap between what is collected and what is left in the communities is creating all sorts of problems for the council and the city and with poorly staffed and ill-equipped public relations and environmental health sections, the city remains incapable of carrying out an appropriate public awareness and communication campaign. It is unnecessary for us to make the point about the utility of such a campaign not only to the council, but also to the city as a whole. The consequences of not having a strong public information/communication department in the council, include the poor flow of information, lack of knowledge and empowerment, and negative behaviour towards the environment. The links between the poor flow of information and negative behaviour towards the environment will continue to erode the efforts of the council to secure the integrity of the City of Georgetown.
However, solid waste management is a very expensive environmental activity. But it is far more expensive in terms of money, the environment, public health and social implications to mismanage solid waste. It is public knowledge that the city council does not have the wherewithal to adequately deal with the garbage problem in the Georgetown.
We do not have the money, the quality and quantity of appropriate equipment, and the research and technical competencies to treat with the increasing burden this aspect of our statutory responsibility has been mercilessly placing upon us.
Finally, the current challenge of solid waste management, and the inadequacies of the council raise important questions about the present model ‒ council/private sector partnership ‒ used by the municipality to deal with this vital area of city life.
Many of these questions cannot be dealt with at length here. Suffice it to say, by way of conclusion, that, perhaps, council needs to begin to explore a model that is more community based. This will allow residents to play a more meaningful and substantial role in the management of waste generated in their local areas, create employment and strengthen necessary alliances between communities and the Georgetown municipality. Simultane-ously, it will make more space available to the council to focus on other core services in the city.
Yours faithfully,
Royston King
Public Relations Officer
Mayor and City Council
