A NEW set of littering by-laws, which are to feature huge fines for persons found engaging in the practice, is awaiting approval of the City Council and subsequently, Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan.

Public Relations Officer at City Hall, Debra Lewis, said so recently during an interview at which she was joined by Acting Solid Waste Director Floyd Rawlins.

“We’re looking at the littering by-laws which will allow us to arrest and prosecute. The council has to adopt, and then they will have to be sent to the ministry,” Lewis explained.
She said the fines in these by-laws are “very high” and will therefore serve as a deterrent to persons.

The current fine is $10,000 for someone caught littering, but only a handful are being charged because Lewis said the Constabulary Department is short of staff. “Why more persons are not being charged goes back to manpower.”
Hence, Lewis said the City Council will be looking to reinstitute the anti-littering campaign which it conducted some time ago.

Rawlins offered that solid waste management begins at home and observed that dumping on the roadsides and ‘anywhere possible’ can cause public health threats.
Furthermore, he said dumping in the drains, canals, and alleyways can result in water contamination and cause blockage. “We’re asking for the kind cooperation of citizens, because it doesn’t only affect the City Council, but all of us,” he said.

Meanwhile, the smaller contractors hired by City Hall during the time their two main ones were not working, are still to receive their payments. The City Council has however been keeping up with monthly payments to Puran Brothers and Cevons Waste Management. “We are still in the process of honouring our payments to them (three small contractors). But we’re up to scratch with our payments to the two main contractors.”

Concerning the new set of littering by-laws, the M&CC had said that it wanted the new system in place before the end of October 2017. It is to impose fines ranging from $25,000 to $100,000, with imprisonment as the consequence of a failure to pay.

The decision to implement this system came as a result of the high level of indiscipline, especially in the business community, regarding littering in Georgetown, Town Clerk Royston King had said when he announced it last September.

“Areas freshly cleaned, if you go back right now, you will see those areas littered all over again. People are littering with gay abandon except if you put in place stiffer fines, sanctions, and the ticketing system,” King had said.

He added: “This would allow people caught littering to pay a fine to the Council directly, and almost immediately, so that you don’t have to go through the court system.”

According to King, the City Constabulary’s anti-littering squad is working in all local neighbourhoods, particularly in the central business district, and officers will be armed with cameras so that the litter bugs can be found.
The City Council also wants to put in place a programme called “Name and Shame” in the media.

Every person who contravenes these new by-laws would be subjected to the aforementioned fines, which are to be paid within 72 hours from the time notice is given of imposition of the fine.

Failure to pay attracts an additional fine of $10,000 for every 24 hours payment remains outstanding. Furthermore, according to the proposed by-law, every person who remains in default of payment for more than 72 hours commits an offence, and upon summary conviction is liable to imprisonment for a period of no less than 24 hours, but not exceeding 120 hours.

According to the proposed by-laws, litter means any solid or liquid material or product such as rubbish, refuse, garbage, paper package, container, bottle, cans, manure, human or animal excrement, the whole or part of an animal’s carcass, coal, wood, gravel, earth, sawdust, glass, plastic, nails, staples, tacks, scraps or metal, and expended tobacco products. It also refers to the whole or part of any article, raw or processed material, vehicle or machinery of any type.