![MONTEGO BAY, May 19 (JIS):
WPM Waste Management Limited has commenced work to discontinue the use of several areas across Hanover for garbage disposal.
Among these is a dumpsite in Haughton Meadows, Lucea, where the entity conducted pre-Labour Day activities, including clearing the location of debris.
WPM Waste Management Limited’s Customer Relations Officer, Sharnon Williams, told JIS News that meetings were held with representatives of the Hanover Municipal Corporation and residents to discuss the matter prior to the cleanup.
“We [told] the residents… that the receptacle on the main road [was] not being utilised properly… did not look good… [and was] a haven for rodent infestation; and being that this [area] is [a part] of the main thoroughfare leading into Negril, it doesn’t look good for tourism either,” she stated.
Ms. Williams said the agency distributed some 50 drums for garbage disposal to residents in the area as part of WPM’s ‘Drum A Di Gate’ Programme. She further advised that WPM collects waste from the community weekly.
On Labour Day, Thursday, May 23, the site in Haughton Meadows will be beautified and a ‘no dumping’ sign erected.
Ms. Williams added that WPM Waste Management’s enforcement team will be monitoring the area frequently to ensure no dumping takes place.
She further informed that a dumpsite in the community of Brissett will also be cleared and declared off-limits for garbage disposal.
Meanwhile, WPM Regional Operations Manager, Edward Muir, indicated that several other sites have been identified for clean-up and discontinued use.
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He also advised that the entity is making the necessary arrangements for regular garbage collection in those areas, “so that, by removing the skips [now being used in those locations], we don’t leave gaps [with] persons [having] nowhere to put their garbage.”
For her part, Member of Parliament (MP) for Hanover Western, Tamika Davis, welcomes the eradication of the dumpsite in Haughton Meadows, noting that it was of grave concern to the residents.
“Anyone who travels through Lucea knows that just beside the courthouse, in front of [Haughton Meadows] is a big skip, a dumping area used by almost everyone passing [by]. So the residents have expressed concern, because they have been saying that they are not the ones creating this unsightly mess,” Ms. Davis stated.
The MP added that a bus stop will be constructed at the location after the completion of beautification works.
Meanwhile, resident of Haughton Meadows, Osmond McFarlane, said the cleanup of the site is “the right thing [to do]” as it was becoming a serious health hazard.
Tour bus driver, Oshane Bingham, who traverses the area frequently, welcomes the cleanup, stating that the establishment of a bus stop should serve to prevent any further dumping at the site.](https://jis.gov.jm/media/2024/05/dump-1-325x220.jpg?v=1716158577)
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