MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica — Councillor Michael Troupe (People’s National Party, Granville Division) on Thursday requested an investigation into what he said were reports from residents that dumped meat was being taken from Retirement landfill and placed back into circulation in Montego Bay.

“Recently, I walked around the dump and people are complaining that when the meat is dumped somebody come right behind and take the meat and bring it back right into the market,” Troupe said during the monthly sitting of the St James Municipal Corporation.

He also said that there are reports that the meat is being used in food establishments and pointed to a specific area where, he said, the practice is taking place.

However, Councillor Dwight Crawford (Jamaica Labour Party, Spring Garden Division) took issue with Troupe’s accusation in relation to restaurants.

“While he is asking for an investigation to be carried out, there are restaurant owners there and you don’t want persons to think that they’re not handling themselves properly,” Crawford said.

“You don’t make assumptions and aspersions, you don’t. It can hurt people’s business and it can hurt the residents, so we have to caution ourselves,” he insisted.

Crawford urged Troupe to be careful as the allegation has not been substantiated and could have a negative impact.

“I know sometimes we want the newspaper to feature us, but we have to be careful, we have to understand what is at stake,” he said.

Troupe, however, refused to back down.

“I said most of the time they bury the meat, but this particular meat, they didn’t bury that,” he said.

“I have a concern about it; people have a concern about that in Retirement, so I am asking you, the persons that are in charge — both the public health and Solid Waste Management — to make sure that when there is a meat that has been taken away, it should be immediately covered,” he said.

“It is a major issue between the dumping, the covering, and the people coming back for the meat that is dumped to take it back to sell it,” he continued.

But Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon sought to impress on the long-time councillor the importance of being clear on the allegations.

“The residents can say anything… we don’t want to say this is the case and there is no investigation to justify what they have said,” the mayor told Troupe.

“It is important that you raise the point or echo a concern of the residents, but we have to investigate before we can say this is a fact,” he continued.

Chief Public Health Inspector Shericka Lewis, when quizzed on the matter, said that this was the first time the organisation was hearing about it.

“Nothing has been reported to us, this is the first we are hearing this information. However, we will do our investigation and report accordingly,” Lewis told the meeting.

National Solid Waste Management Authority Senior Sanitation Supervisor Sharnon Williams had a similar response.

“I have never heard of such a complaint and so I cannot speak to that,” Williams told the councillors.

She explained that there is a procedure in place to deal with the disposal of spoiled goods and therefore, the meat should not be able to be accessed in such a way.

“Normally, when we get a request to send a truck for spoiled meat, spoiled goods, we refer to this as special waste. Whenever we do that we do that in collaboration with public health,” she said.

“Public health will spray the meat after which we will collect the meat and then we bury it, and we have equipment at the disposal site that will normally dig a hole and we bury the meat,” she explained.