LUCEA, Hanover — Western Parks and Markets (WPM) Waste Management Limited’s effort to clamp down on litter bugs and illegal dumping has been boosted with the addition of two new motorcycles to its fleet. WPM, which is the regional arm of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), covers St James, Hanover, Trelawny and Westmoreland. The bikes will be rotated across these parishes.

They were recently received from Kingston, where enforcement officers were also sent for training. These officers will be on the ground issuing tickets in a bid to keep rubbish off the streets.

“With the illegal dumping all around, if anybody sees anything, they can just snap a picture… and we can investigate. The place is a bit too dirty so we are trying to tidy up as much as possible,” said public cleansing inspector for Hanover Eastern Andrew Walker.

Addressing the regular monthly general meeting of the Hanover Municipal Corporation last Thursday, he advised that team members will be clad in uniform and the corporation and police will be informed when they are dispatched to the streets.

Councillor Devon Brown (Jamaica Labour Party, Hopewell Division), who said he was fairly happy with improvements made by the agency in the collection of garbage in the parish after it received new trucks in November, still had one area of concern.

“The dumping across these gullies is unbelievable so, solid waste, I don’t know if you can get wardens or somebody to traverse these corridors regularly to catch these culprits,” he urged as Mayor Sheridan Samuels agreed.

Walker gave an assurance that tips like these would be probed.

“That’s why we are saying just spread the word. If you see any truck tipping anything weird that is illegal, [report it]” he responded.

However Mayor Samuels questioned the agency’s level of responsiveness. He said it had ignored requests to remove bulky waste in Johnson Town and Malcolm Heights.

“We have reported to you that there are some derelict vehicles… There is a big truck there and I know that the NSWMA is responsible,” said Samuels.

He also pointed to a truck parked near the roundabout on Miller’s Drive while Superintendent Sharon Beeput, the officer in charge of the Hanover Police Division, spoke of a faulty vehicle left on the main road between Great River and Hopewell which poses a risk to road users.