STEWART... Will he be able to or be allowed to run an efficient garbage collection system?
-Ian Allen photo
Colin Steer, Associate Editor
FOR SEVERAL hours on Thursday, large sections of the Corporate Area and rural St. Andrew were blanketed under a pall of acrid smoke reportedly the result of an out-of-control fire set illegally at the Riverton City landfill in Kingston earlier in the morning.
The subsequent charges and counter-charges by Alston Stewart, the executive chairman of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), and members of the Riverton Meadows Trucking and Disposal Co-operative Society provided more smoke than clarity to a long, simmering problem. On Wednesday, Mr. Stewart announced the termination of contracts with the co-operative. He said this was done subsequent to a review of operational costs to achieve greater efficiency and to tighten expenditure.
RATES CUT
Members of the co-operative who had been protesting since Tuesday outside the entrance to the landfill, cited a number of grievances including reduced payment, with contractors' daily rates being cut from $10,000 to $7,000. They also charged that renewed attempts were being made to cut them out of the garbage disposal business with the hiring of new contractors. For his part, Mr. Stewart referred to threats against truck operators and staff of the NSWMA, attempts at extortion, the theft of fuel and the hijacking of trucks from the site.
Last week's stand-off and conflict between the co-operative and the NSWMA is, however, the latest round in a series of disputes that came to the fore after much of the operations previously carried out by Metropolitan Parks and Markets were taken away in 2001 and given to the NSWMA.
Many of the former contractors who worked closely with MPM outlined stories of how they had formed a co-operative to purchase tipper trucks to transport garbage and in the process were managing to eke out more than a decent living. They saw the attempts by Mr. Stewart and his outfit to 'regularise' their operations as a sly attempt by 'big men' to take away their business.
NOT THE FIRST
Thursday's fire was, of course, not the first that seemed to have developed amid a dispute. Almost a year ago, in September 2003, thousands of tyres were set on fire at the dump. Melissa McHargh, planning and research manager at the NSWMA was quoted then as saying the tyres were in a segregated heap that had been set aside for bailing a process in which the tyres are compacted and used for construction purposes. At the time, Mr. Stewart said it was the second major fire within a short time frame of a dispute with people over its billing system. He charged then, as he did again last week, that there were people at Riverton who were attempting to extort money from the company.
"But we will not be cowed," he said.
Prior to the setting up of the NSWMA, more than 33 fires were recorded in 2001, costing the authorities from a low of $2 million to a high of $10 million to clean up afterwards.
At a press conference last week, Mr. Stewart noted that the Riverton disposal site receives 60 per cent of the solid waste generated in the island and that any disruption results in significant dislocation of the company's collection schedule and operational practices. Additionally, fires on the disposal site has significant negative environmental impact on surrounding communities, as well as being a major drain on the agency's operational budget in regard to extinguishing them and rehabilitating the affected waste cells.
These disputes over clashing economic interests and tough talk by the management of the NSWMA are but a microcosm of the prevailing social order in Jamaica. At one end of the economic spectrum are those who want to operate in a hassle-free environment without having to contend with extraneous expenditure. On the other hand, there are those who feel that they are being denied a piece of pudding and are quite prepared to 'tun over the pot' if they can't get to "eat a food too".
Ironically, for many years the Riverton City Dump provided fertile ground for much sociological study. It was symbolic of the worst kind urban blight and squalor a place where adults and teenagers foraged for useable material among the refuse for re-sale or personal use, while vultures perched nearby waiting their turn to dive in even as the hogs rummaged for scraps of putrefying food.
MANDATE
In 2001, the Government moved to bring some order to the management of the garbage business with the passage of the National Solid Waste Manage-ment Authority Act and the setting up of the NSWMA.
The NSWMA's mandate was to ensure effective management of solid waste, safeguard public health by ensuring that waste was collected, sorted and transported, recycled, re-used or disposed of, in an environmentally sound manner.
It was part of a many-pronged attack on the prevailing social conditions with attempts also to the improve the living conditions of the many people who lived adjacent to the dump and for whom it provided an economic means of survival.
SOCIAL RELIEF
New housing units were built and infrastructure improved with installation of pipes and better sewerage systems. Parts of the renovated Riverton City Dump were renamed Riverton Mews. These developments brought some social relief but simmering tension over economic survival have never been defused.
Mr. Stewart's approach to the management of the landfill has primarily been that of the hard-nosed businessman who will not be intimidated by threats. His frustration was palpable as he spoke in radio interviews last week of the challenges the company faces.
But in some ways, his work is being made more difficult by the fact that the majority of persons with whom he has had his disputes are constituents of and are being supported by People's National Party Member of Parliament, O.T. Williams. Mr. Stewart who is a well-known supporter of the PNP and an influential member of the party's National Executive Council suggested last week that among the persons involved in the extortion racket and causing the disruption were some who were affiliates or supporters of the Spanish Town-based One Order Gang. That's a bit of a stretch. While not impossible or totally unlikely given new links forged in criminal operations, it would be more than a bit of an oddity given the geography, political landscape and allegiances of the major players involved.
In the meantime, the plans set out for this fiscal year by the Government will come to nought if too much is spent putting out fires of one kind or another.
The plans for the year include the development of an on-site access road to the north and east of the landfill, a designated waste cell for special and hazardous non-toxic waste and five landfill cells and storm water controls. At the same time, it is expected that cover materials to reduce fire hazards at the landfill will be applied and a second set of landfill heavy duty equipment be procured, in addition to the commencement of activities for expanded landfill, inclusive of base lining, leachate controls, storm water controls and on-site road network.
MARATHON MEETING
But for all his tough talk, Mr. Stewart has already had to compromise on his position in the past few days. On Friday, following the intervention of Portia Simpson Miller and a marathon meeting among the stakeholders, the termination of services notices to the Riverton Meadows Trucking and Disposal Co-operative Society were rescinded. Among the points agreed was for a grievance procedure which stipulates that if it is breached the services of the Co-operative will be terminated immediately.
Gerry Gardner, chairman of the Co-operative, also apologised to the nation for the disruption in garbage collection schedule that resulted from the dispute and promised that his organisation would assist with the cleaning up of the Riverton City Dump.
QUESTIONS
There are questions that remain to be answered however:
i. Will Mr. Stewart be able to or be allowed to run an efficient garbage collection system that allows no room for 'bandoolooism or badmanism'?
ii. Can an efficient system be operated in Riverton that excludes or minimises the input of people from the area who have known no other form of work all their adult life but to scrounge in the garbage to make a livelihood?
iii. How far are we away from seeing armed escorts accompanying garbage trucks to the city's dump? Is that sustainable and is this any way to run a country?
