The Solid Waste Management Corporation (SWMC) is appealing to residents not to dump waste in communal bins belonging to another community. Mr. Wilmon McCall, Operations Supervisor at the SWMC also made a call for persons to desist from dumping construction waste and other matters that are not suited for household waste in these bins. “The bins are for the residents for the area where we put them and that is as a result of, at times the topography of the place. Sometimes the trucks have to go up some steep inclines and it is very dangerous for our workers and the equipment and we are in fear of damaging people’s property as well when we do that,” Mr. McCall said. “People from other jurisdictions would come by, utilize the bins and sometimes misuse and abuse the bins.” Perpetrators he said can be charged for misusing and abusing the bins.

Mr. McCall gave an example of a communal bin located in a community in the vicinity of the Fort Tyson Rise, just beyond the second roundabout at Frigate Bay. He said the bin not only has persons traversing other communities to dump garbage there, but are disposing non-household waste not suited for the bin. “The bins are only designed to collect municipal waste…but what you find around those bins are things like washing machines and stoves; we see things like water heaters and all sort of household appliances which we do not allow anyway,” McCall said. He added that these kinds of waste should be brought directly to the landfill.

Additionally, Mr. McCall noted that there are some persons who rummage through the bin probably searching for items of value and scatter the garbage outside the bin, making a mess and creating a nuisance for persons living close to where the bin is located. Additionally, when the garbage truck workers see non-municipal waste inside these bins, the items are removed, left next to the bin and create an unsightly look, Mr. McCall noted. Meanwhile, the SWMC official said relocating the bins may be an option, but there is limited space for this to be done. Mr. McCall is hoping his appeal will not go unheeded.