MANDEVILLE, Manchester:
SOUTHERN PARKS and Markets (SPM), the agency responsible for solid waste management in the parishes of St. Elizabeth and Manchester, has found itself without sufficient funds and other resources to carry out all its duties.
Five of the eight garbage trucks it operates have fallen into disrepair. The remaining three, according to general manager, Gladston Sealy, are not enough to handle the volume of garbage to be collected. As a result, several areas, especially those in St. Elizabeth, have not had their solid waste collected over an extended period.
Mr. Sealy said if the SPM were given the funds needed to retrieve one of the trucks from the garage, his agency could step-up collections.
The SPM manager who was speaking during a recent meeting of the Manchester Board of Health, said one of the trucks has been repaired but his agency had no money to pay the $210,000 repair cost.
The garage has refused to release the truck, he added, until the bill is paid in full because its management says the company has had "bad experiences with other government agencies in getting paid."
In the meantime residents of Alligator Pond and New Forest are complaining that the poor garbage collection is contributing to the increasing mosquito nuisance in their community.
