– Mayor Green
GARBAGE collection contractors have been charging the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) an additional 20 percent since the opening of Haags Bosch Landfill Site, on the East Bank Demerara. Mayor Hamilton Green said that is a primary reason for the steady pile-up of garbage in the capital, he told a press conference at City Hall last Thursday.
He explained that the additional cost is as a result of the extra six to eight miles that the contractors now have to travel instead of dumping at the Mandela Avenue site in Le Repentir Cemetery.
Mr. Green said what has made the situation worse is that the new dumping ground does not operate on a 24-hour basis and would, usually, close between 18:00 hrs and 19:00 hrs. 
“If you take garbage there around that time, they don’t receive it,” he pointed out.
As a result, Green said the collection in Georgetown is not up-to-date. “We did not do enough public relations before Haags Bosch was opened and, though we welcome it, that’s the impact on City Hall.”
Less than a year ago, City Hall failed to meet its deadline for paying outstanding amounts to garbage contractors, resulting in the latter suspending their services.
Last April, M&CC Public Relations Officer, Mr. Royston King indicated, in a press release, that there was no collection of garbage in some local communities and it was posing serious problems to residents and the health of neighbourhoods.
King said it was apparent that the extra distance to Haags Bosch, traffic congestion and the extensive areas for coverage by contractors were all contributing to a delay in the process.