Mobay Business Operators Urged to Practise Proper Waste Disposal
By: , April 17, 2019The Key Point:
Photo: Okoye Henry
Montego Bay Mayor and St. James Municipal Corporation Chairman, Councillor Homer Davis, speaking at the Corporation’s monthly meeting on April 11.The Facts
- Mr. Davis indicated that consequent on the rodents’ onset, the St. James Municipal Corporation, which he chairs, convened a meeting with restaurant operators earlier this year to discuss better solid waste disposal arrangements, to ensure compliance with the governing regulations.
- This action complemented the James Health Department’s drive, which has been under way since January, to rid sections of the resort city of the pests.
The Full Story
Montego Bay Mayor, Councillor Homer Davis, is urging business operators to properly dispose of solid waste, in order to reduce the rodent population affecting the city and, by extension, the parish.
Mr. Davis indicated that consequent on the rodents’ onset, the St. James Municipal Corporation, which he chairs, convened a meeting with restaurant operators earlier this year to discuss better solid waste disposal arrangements, to ensure compliance with the governing regulations.
This action complemented the James Health Department’s drive, which has been under way since January, to rid sections of the resort city of the pests.
However, Mr. Davis told the Corporation’s monthly meeting on April 11 that despite the progress that has been made in the thrust to curtail the infestation, there remains a lack of serious compliance on the part of some restaurateurs.
This, he pointed out, is also evident across the wider parish of St. James where persons operating various different types of businesses have not been properly disposing of the waste generated by their operations, resulting in rodents having a “field day” with the refuse.
Mr. Davis pointed out that if Montego Bay is to remain in pristine condition, business operators “have an obligation to work with the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) to have their garbage properly containerised for it to be transported to the dump in a way that [does not] create any problems for anyone”.
The Mayor further urged the general public to take responsibility for ensuring the cleanliness of their environments.
“The people who buy from these establishments have a responsibility to dispose of their styrofoam and others boxes in a way that doesn’t become a breeding ground for rodents,” Mr. Davis emphasised.
For his part, Chief Public Health Inspector for the St. James Public Health Department, Lennox Wallace, also urged private-sector business interests to play a greater role in effecting pest-control initiatives.