SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) has lost count of the illegal dump sites that are increasingly popping up in this parish, but they are determined to get rid of them.

Leona Bennett, senior public cleansing inspector for Hanover and Westmoreland at Western Parks and Market (WPM) Waste Management Ltd, attributes the increase in dump sites to a lack of proper roads in deep rural areas. With some areas inaccessible to the NSWMA, she said, residents take their waste to one general location, and this creates an illegal dump site.

“Some persons feel like once they put their garbage in a bag and come and throw it to the front of the lane, they have properly disposed of [it],” she explained.

When the NSWMA gets rid of a site, it reappears within a week, she added. Getting rid of the dump sites is a costly undertaking, she told the Jamaica Observer. The price tag is $2.3 million from February to early June of this year, according to an NSWMA/WPM report.

The NSWMA, the public health official added, relies on the help of community members in its battle against the illegal dump sites.

“We went into the communities with councillors and spoke to some residents and some stakeholders as well… It’s easier when communities buy into the message so we can come up with alternative ways to dispose of their garbage properly,” she stressed.

Bennett told the meeting that the agency had just finished work in Sheffield and Petersfield. This involved removing the rubbish, beautifying the communities, and putting up “No dumping” signs after educating residents about proper garbage disposal. There are plans to move into other communities.

Councillor for the Little London Division, Ian Myles said one of the dump sites in his division can be found a stone’s throw away from the Little London High School. He added that he has been in dialogue with the NSWMA to get rid of it before the new school term begins in September.