The garbage situation in Georgetown, driven by years of chronic mismanagement, has reached yet another tipping point. The Georgetown Mayor and City Council’s latest plan to approach the central government for a subvention to purchase additional garbage trucks is merely a temporary fix to a long-standing issue that has plagued the capital city for far too long.
For years, the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has struggled to manage the city’s waste, consistently failing to prevent the garbage build-up in areas such as Albouystown, Vlissengen Road, and Broad Street. Currently, the city possesses 33 operational garbage trucks, along with a tractor and environmental workers, but it is glaringly obvious that this is woefully inadequate to tackle the rapid expansion and rising waste production in Georgetown. As the city’s population grows and its economic activity increases, so, too, does its garbage. Yet, instead of proactively addressing this issue, the M&CC continues to lurch from crisis to crisis, depending heavily on the central government to step in and clean up the mess.
The most recent proposal, which has been approved by the council and is now being handled by the Solid Waste Department, seeks government funding for new garbage and dump trucks. While it’s true that acquiring additional equipment would help ease the pressure, it’s concerning that the city still doesn’t know how much money it needs for this crucial purchase. Moreover, the problems go deeper than just the lack of trucks.
PPP/C Councillor Jai Narine Singh Jr (Don Singh) has highlighted some of the systemic issues that contribute to the garbage crisis. One glaring issue is that the city’s contracts with private waste management companies do not cover parapet waste, which includes cuttings from trees, bushes, and other yard waste. As a result, residents often resort to illegal dumping. Further, the contracts fail to address the increased amount of commercial waste generated by Georgetown’s expanding business sector.
The question must be asked: Why has the city’s leadership allowed the waste management infrastructure to fall so far behind? A plan to purchase “10 to 12 more trucks” and hire more environmental workers is necessary, but it should have been implemented years ago. What’s even more frustrating is the lack of long-term vision. Rather than simply scrambling for trucks, the M&CC must develop a comprehensive, sustainable strategy for waste management that accounts for Georgetown’s growth and ensures the entire city, including areas managed by private contractors, receives adequate attention.
To make matters worse, despite the council allocating $500 million annually for waste collection, there seems to be no end in sight to the garbage pile-ups. With private contractors failing to meet the needs of the city and the Solid Waste Department stretched beyond its limits, the time has come for the council to rethink its approach entirely.
The illegal dumping problem, which continues to mar Georgetown’s streets and neighbourhoods, would not be solved by adding a few more garbage trucks. It requires an overhaul of waste management contracts, public education campaigns to deter littering, stricter enforcement of penalties for illegal dumping, and stronger collaboration between the M&CC and the central government.
The central government has repeatedly had to intervene to clean up Georgetown, despite waste management being the sole responsibility of the M&CC. The capital cannot continue to depend on these ad hoc interventions. The M&CC must take full ownership of the problem, and work towards a lasting solution that does not rely on government bailouts every time the city’s waste begins to overflow.
Georgetown deserves better. The M&CC must finally develop a realistic, long-term waste management strategy and put an end to the city’s garbage woes.
