Garbage Paradise - Arnett community laments solid waste pile-up

Residents of Paradise Court on 10th Street in Arnett Gardens, St Andrew, are crying out for help as their garbage skip is overflowing. They claim that the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) has failed to pick up their garbage for more than a month.

One resident, Derron Walters, said the pile-up of garbage has become a health hazard, especially in light of the recently announced dengue outbreak.

"Mi nuh know who fi call and talk about this," he said. "Mi send it to couple people well and still not get no response. We need some action, and someone need to come and deal with this so the community can be in a better condition," he added.

Walters told THE WEEKEND STAR that their garbage has not been collected in more than a month.

"Last month them did fi come, but the truck just pass through. Them take some and leave the rest. It's like that, so each time they come, them tek some and gone again. So it continue fi heap up," said Walters.

"The smell of the rubbish is causing more people to keep their windows closed, because it brings a lot of flies. Right now, residents live right beside the rubbish [skip]. I don't know how they put the rubbish bin beside the house, but something has to be done about it."

The garbage, which is swarmed by vultures, also attracts dogs and roaches. Items in the garbage heap include everything, from daily household waste to used sanitary napkins, discarded stove, and even a toilet.

Christopher Dawkins has lived in the area for more than six years. He stated that the pile-up began in the latter part of last year.

"It is really deplorable. I am the resident next to the garbage skip. Outside of the overflow, there is scent that has forced me to keep my windows closed. My children have to stay inside, because it is not sanitary to have them play outside," he said.

"When it touch night, you see the rat them just a run back and forth, from the skip to underneath the cars. So you see why the doors have to be closed. But more than that, we have to be buying destroyer on top of destroyer because mosquitoes breed up, too."

The residents are suggesting that if the skip is cleaned at least every two weeks, then it would be manageable. However, if the authorities wait until more than a month passes, then one truck cannot move the waste.

"The concern is that the children walking around can touch and catch anything; the elderly people; for example, my mother is 74 and is vulnerable," Dawkins said.

Attempts by THE WEEKEND STAR to contact Dramaine Jones, regional operations manager, and Rachel Reid, community relations manager for the NSWMA, were unsuccessful.