MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Member of Parliament for Manchester Central Rhoda Crawford says the improper disposal and poor containerisation of garbage is affecting the turnaround time for solid waste collection in her constituency.

“No amount of garbage trucks will solve the problem, if we do not play our part and do what needs to be done. We need to containerise our waste and desist from dumping at illegal sites,” she said on Monday.

The Southern Parks and Markets (SPM) Waste Management, which is responsible for the solid waste collection in Manchester, Clarendon and St Elizabeth, received 10 new garbage trucks recently.

Crawford pointed out that a Christmas beautification programme is ongoing to clear solid and bulky waste.

“I have been moving around the constituency with 15 garbage truck operators — 10 from the NSWMA SWEEP programme and five that I have privately contracted under the Christmas beautification programme — and I am telling you when I go into these communities and I observe the workmen, they are taking two hours to shovel and to sweep waste that is not properly containerised, an activity that could have taken 20 minutes,” she said.

“A lot of time is being lost and when that happens, communities that were scheduled for clean-up on a particular day, they are pushed back. So I am asking my constituents, please put your domestic waste in bags or boxes, and for those constituents who do not have mini garbage skips at your gate, I am appealing to you to get plastic or metal drums,” she added.

SPM Regional Operations Manager Edward Muir expressed similar concerns.

“With the addition of the 10 new units we have reduced the backlog [of garbage] significantly across the region. Now what is happening is that we see people still not properly containerising their garbage. We want citizens to properly containerise, so that we can have a faster turnaround time,” he said.

He added that SPM has seen an increase in solid waste for the Christmas season.

“We have seen a significant increase in waste being generated, so we ask people to ensure that they properly containerise as it will also create a safer environment for our workers,” said Muir.

He said SPM has intensified enforcement activities across the region.

“Our enforcement team will be working around the clock through town centres to ensure that all businesses comply and are on contract to have a timely collection and that they have the requisite containers to store their garbage,” he said.

Crawford said the poor disposal of solid waste is a major concern.

“When your waste is placed at the gate and it is not properly containerised in a skip or drum, then dogs and other stray animals go about and have it plastered all about the community, making the job of the garbage collectors more difficult and more time-consuming,” she said.

“It is our responsibility, all of us, to make the community clean and so I am appealing to everyone. Let us play our part; we can do it and we should do it,” she added.