Govt to start charging businesses for improper disposal of industrial waste

…EPA to conduct continuous surveillancee

In keeping with the Government’s goal to ensure the country remains clean, the Public Works Ministry is moving to charge business owners for the improper disposal of waste products.
This will be undertaken by the ministry in collaboration with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), among other stakeholders.
On Friday, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar met with several private sector organisations including the Chairman of the National Enhancement Committee, the Private Sector Commission, the Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association (GMSA), the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and the Chinese Association of Guyana to urge its members to dispose of their commercial waste responsibly.
Present at the meeting were also the Solid Waste Director for the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, Walter Narine, and City Councillors Don Singh and Steven Jacobs.

During the engagement, they were informed of the Government’s plan to implement the enforcement plan, which will require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct continuous patrol and surveillance monitoring.
Further, an extensive public relations campaign to educate the public about littering and its harmful effects on the environment will soon be launched.
This specific aspect of the plan is geared at promoting cleanliness among the Guyanese populace, and fostering a sense of tidiness while ensuring the environs are safer for residents or passersby.
Indar related that the move will address the issue of piles of garbage in unoccupied areas, street corners, and waterways. He further explained that Guyana cannot be the fastest growing economy and tourists are being greeted with the unpleasant sight of garbage in public spaces.

“We have this clean up on the 7th but it can’t be this way all the time that the President and Ministers out there cleaning garbage… There is not one garbage clean up that we did that we have not taken over 100 truckloads out of the city and that’s the minimum… It is not just the city let me make it clear, all the townships have this problem but Georgetown, the main capital where most visitors come, travel around, and eat and lime in the night and so, is where the most buildup of garbage is,” Indar told the gathering.
Meanwhile, GCCI President Kester Hutson has pledged support for the move, noting that enforcement is a critical aspect that is lacking in the current system.
“We will support the government; we want to ensure that coming out of this meeting we have an action plan. And more so, from the enforcement standpoint… if members are guilty of such actions let them be dealt with accordingly and we have always taken that position,” Hudson assured.
Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Komal Singh has also committed to assisting the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (GM&CC) Solid Waste Department to ramp up the collection of garbage.
Currently, GM&CC lacks the adequate manpower and trucks to provide the optimal service throughout the city.
“Here is what the Private Sector is going to do – we already procured about sixty drums and hopefully within another week we will have 100 but we will go around to our membership to see if we can get some more bins that you (GM&CC) can put at different locations. But you really need to review the amount of assets that you have and optimise those assets,” Singh noted.