Portland Health Department raises alarm over uncollected garbage
Published:Tuesday | January 18, 2022 | 2:19 PM
The Medical Officer of Health for Portland Dr Sharon Lewis is raising alarm about the chronic garbage problem in the parish saying it could result in an increase in the rodent population.
According to Lewis, uncollected garbage spilling over from receptacles also threatens Portland's vector control programme.
"I am urging the relevant stakeholders to collaborate and devise means to urgently address the problem while we await the procurement for additional garbage trucks in the medium to long-term," she pleaded.
The problem worsened around mid-November when more trucks belonging to the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) became inoperable.
The NSWMA has been contracting privately-owned trucks to fill the void.
But according to Port Antonio Mayor Paul Thompson, the private operators are overwhelmed by the volume of uncollected garbage.
The problem is especially severe in the parish capital Port Antonio and its environs including Breastworks, Bryan's Bay, Stony Hill, Norwich, and Fairy Hill.
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