NSWMA prosecuting operators of illegal dumps
OPERATORS of illegal dumps will be targeted and prosecuted, warns the National Solid Waste Management Agency (NSWMA).
Director of Enforcement and Compliance at the Agency Ann Marie Rodriques told the Observer that a registry was being developed of illegal dumps islandwide, which will be targeted for prosecution. Already, 17 lots in the Corporate Area have been cleared, while investigations continue to identify the owners of other lots.
In the meantime, all major towns are being targeted under the NSWMA’s weekly enforcement operations to address breaches of the Solid Waste Management Act, with special focus on Corporate Area town centres in light of the upcoming Cricket World Cup 2007.
A warning is also in effect for individuals and businesses who continue to dispose of waste in less than suitable ways. In fact, some 76 summons were issued between March and February of this year.
According to Rodriques, continued enforcement activities has resulted in a number of court cases as well as a consistent increase in fines, which range from $1,000 to as high as $500,000.
People have largely been prosecuted under Section 45 (a) of the NSWMA Act which states that “every person who disposes of solid waste in any manner not approved by the Authority commits an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction before a Resident Magistrate to a fine not exceeding one million dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding nine months or to both such fine and imprisonment”.
While the bulk of the summons have been served on businesses in the downtown Kingston area, offenders in the parishes of Montego Bay, St Catherine, Clarendon and Manchester have also felt the long arm of the law.
Rodriques said the NSWMA had been working in conjunction with the local authorities, the Island Special Constabulary Force, the Jamaica Constabulary Force and various public health departments.
In October 2003, the NSWMA trained approximately 1,000 police officers islandwide in enforcing the Solid Waste Management Act, which replaced the Litter Act.
