THE Guyana Chronicle yesterday took to the streets of Georgetown to get a firsthand look at the surveys being conducted by the recently established Monitoring Unit on garbage around the city. Speaking with this publication, Corporal Quacy Baveghems, head of the team, said yesterday’s exercise entailed doing assessment of garbage disposal within Georgetown. He said visits will be conducted to several businesses and private residences in the various wards of Georgetown, to properly educate persons on the penalties as well as the health hazards that improper dumping of garbage attracts.

“We’re going to all businesses and most likely residents in the areas (in) the different wards within Georgetown, which is 52 wards. We’re hoping for the best with garbage disposal within the city of Georgetown. We(have been) doing this since last week Saturday, the survey within Georgetown,” Baveghems stated.

Meanwhile, a few concerned minibus operators, who willing shared their views on the garbage situation, expressed utter disgust at the business community for the role it has played in the present unacceptable state of the city.

“When these vendors finish working at nights, they pay the junkies to carry their stuff and dump it anywhere… When they done, they don’t even look to see where these junkies throwing the stuff,” one woman said.

She pointed out that the constables are not taking the right actions and dealing with the people who truly are the culprits in these mischievous acts.

“A day I see a lady throw down a bottle in the pile of garbage, and the woman went in the middle of the garbage and pick up her bottle after they spoke to her, and they harassed her still; but nobody don’t see when they dumping all this garbage here at nights, and that’s the real issue here,” the woman argued.

Another man who spoke with this newspaper said City Council failed to carry out its mandate given by the people. He believes that if stricter penalties were in place from the beginning, the situation would not have degenerated to what it is now.

“They are supposed to take more actions, so that when somebody does litter, penalties are in place; because everybody doing as they like, and nobody cares about the health of anybody in those areas where they dumping,” the man said.

Several parts of the city have over time become dumping places for businesses that refuse to play their part in maintaining the cleanliness of the city.

The Monitoring Unit is one of the many initiatives established to deal with the current garbage crisis in Region Four.