MONTEGO BAY, St James — Councillor Michael Troupe (People’s National Party, Granville Division) has recommended that he and his locally elected peers across the country be given authority to prosecute people who engage in illegal dumping.

“I would love for all councillors to be a municipal warden so we can catch those culprits,” Troupe said after voicing contempt for individuals who disposed of bulky waste in an area that had just been cleaned by a team from the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA).

Troupe was speaking during last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation.

“Give us a ticket book so we can prosecute them also, because I don’t think you have enough persons within your organisation. But if every councillor had that authority to prosecute those persons, it would make it go a far way,” he said to NSWMA representatives at the meeting.

“There is an area in my division, on Glover Allen Drive, and just as they clean up the area, completely clean the area, somebody went there and throw some old mattresses and old fridge,” said Troupe, who could not hide his frustration.

“People just throw out anything, anywhere, anyhow,” he lamented.

“I understand the effort; you are trying but it just goes to naught. Because you clean it today, somebody throw an old mattress there,” he again said to the NSWMA representative.

Troupe also called for more wardens, in general, to be dispatched to deal with illegal dump sites.

However Mark Jones, who is public cleansing manager at the NSWMA’s regional arm, Western Parks and Markets (WPM), explained that fulfilling the councillor’s requests would not be simple.

“Having more persons gazetted to serve tickets and do other enforcement matters, that would probably have to be a recommendation from a higher level,” he cautioned.

Jones also pointed to the possibility of an abuse of power.

“Persons may have a personal vendetta against a person and give them a ticket because of whatever issues they may have had in the past or have ongoing,” he explained.

In sharing his views, Councillor Joshua Cummings (Jamaica Labour Party, Montego Bay Central Division) said the problem was not manpower but lack of enforcement. He used his division as an example.

“We have some enforcement officers, I have been pleading in regards to the enforcement officer of the NSWMA to give Norwood some serious attention where enforcement is concerned,” said Cummings.

He said bulky waste is regularly placed along the main road in that community.

“I am going to ask them to allow the enforcement team to do their work because that is what I think is lacking… so we can get the work done,” added Cummings.

But Jones stressed that lack of adequate staff is the root cause of many of the challenges the NSWMA faces. He said the enforcement team is small and there are many demands on their services.