EXECUTIVE director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) Audley Gordon says that he will be meeting with stakeholders in Port Antonio by next Tuesday to seek solutions to the town’s garbage disposal problems.

The meeting comes amid concern raised by individuals in the Portland capital about rampant disregard for proper solid waste management, especially by business operators and vendors.

“We plan to have discussions with business operators, vendors, merchants, and the leadership of the town to come to common understanding of the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder,” Gordon said in a release issued by the NSWMA Thursday in response to the concerns.

“We know some businesses are disposing of garbage improperly and we know there is a big problem of illegal vending,”Gordon said in his release. “Businesses must deal with their own garbage disposal and illegal vending must be curtailed. We, at the NSWMA, continue to do our part to see how best the NEPM Waste Management Limited can improve collection and also, as regulators, we must hold business interests accountable in how they dispose of their garbage,” he added.

He was responding to a report that rats and other rodents had overrun the town due to uncollected commercial waste. The pile-up was said to be contributing a bad stench and had forced cancellation of visits by six cruise vessels to the town, leading to Mayor Paul Thompson’s statement that there was a “race against time” to have it ready for the next visit by a cruise vessel next Wednesday.

Port Antonio is known for a history of garbage problems, most of which are primarily due to blocked drains, which contribute to a pile-up of garbage including plastic bottles and bags and styrofoam.

In October this year, despite extensive drain cleaning, there were concerns in the town about the pile-up of plastic and styrofoam containers dumped in drains, rivers and gullies. It is also felt that business operators who refused to use available garbage disposal facilities and operations are contributing heavily to the situation.

Gordon said the NSWMA would intensify its enforcement activities against these businesses, with the assistance of the town’s Municipal Police Force, and increase efforts to charge violators who do not follow the law.

“A lot of our challenges as a country is that many persons refuse to dispose of their refuse properly. Garbage is thrown from cars, in gullies, in open lots and on the streets,” Gordon said.

“Even where there are proper receptacles, people still refuse to use them and in many cases steal, relocate or reassign them,” he added.

He stated that for 2017, the NSWMA will be aggressively enforcing the NSWM Act in order to put a stop to some of these practices.