THE NEW Kingston Civic Association, with the assistance of property owners/ operators, will be installing garbage receptacles in the business district by next week as it moves to ensure better garbage disposal in the area and to control the problem of rat infestation.
The receptacles are mainly for pedestrians who throw garbage on the road thus contributing to the rat problem. This part of a rodent eradication programme being done by the Kingston and St. Andrew Health Department and the civic association.
According to Rachael Gore, the association's president, the programme is a long-term one. "We decided to use this approach right to the end of the year and revisit in October to set up the programme for next year," she said.
In May of this year the eradication programme was reintroduced after it was first launched in June last year. It involves a nine-step approach to that a compactor should be installed in a central location where garbage can be easily disposed.
The plan involves regular surveys of the area and continuous baiting inside and outside food establishments. Ms. Gore also noted that it has also been following up on a recommendation by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHOgenerated in businesses could be disposed of properly.
Last week the health department issued a release which noted that a recent survey found a reduction of 75 per cent in the rat burrows (nests) since the rodent reduction programme was introduced last year.
"This implies that the rat population has been reduced by approximately the same percentage," the release said.
Five years ago a terrible rat problem was uncovered in the community and numerous efforts have since been made to contain it.
