GEORGETOWN Mayor Hamilton Green Thursday expressed delight at the final closure of the Le Repentir landfill and opening of the new Haags Bosch facility on the East Bank Demerara. “On behalf of the citizens, I would like to express our delight that we can now close a facility which ought to have been closed years ago and which has created so much pain, stress and distress for the Council itself and residents in the area,” he told a press conference at City Hall.
But Mr. Green also addressed what he called some lingering concerns over the opening of the new site and said one of the plaguing problems is over who would bear the burden of the additional cost of waste disposal there.
He recalled that, when the new facility was first discussed, there were many proposals and measures to attenuate the situation.
“There was talk about tipping fees or that each household should pay an additional fee but nothing has been decided yet. We assume that the Government would absorb the additional cost which will ensure that the Municipality is not put under further financial stress,” Green said.
He disclosed that the present contractors have already indicated that their fees to transport the garbage would need to be increased but the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) is unaware of where the additional finances would come from, as it relates to the movement to the new facility.
“Whether it will be the contractors or the municipality, itself, the fact that we are now moving from a point in central Georgetown to a point on the East Bank would suggest that there will be additional costs. In fact, the two contractors, who move garbage from domestic and industrial areas to the site, indicated that their fees would increase,” Green said.
He also highlighted that there were complaints from the contractors concerning the turnaround time being too long and is hampering the completion of their collection.

Hiccups
Alluding to that problem, Green said: “There were hiccups but I spoke to Mr. Walter Willis, who advised that this did not present any difficulty as that was part of the initiation of a new project.”
Despite the setbacks, however, Green said the opening was timely and appealed to citizens to desist from taking their garbage to the closed site.
“This new facility is now functional and I am appealing to the public, particularly the business entities, who have taken waste to Le Repentir outside of the contract, to act in a responsible manner,” he said.
To deal with the issue, Green announced that the Council will be establishing a telephone hot line in a few days to encourage citizens to report instances of littering.
“It is true that persons will have to face the difficulty of travelling a few extra miles to dispose of their waste but we are asking them to be responsible,” he said.
Green said the introduction of the new measure to combat littering would be effective because the City Constabulary will deal with the reports with the assistance of the other relevant agencies.