MONTEGO BAY, St James — A video on social media showing rats having a field day near a wholesale supermarket in Montego Bay has spurred the St James Municipal Corporation and the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) into action.

On Tuesday heavy equipment and personnel were first deployed to North Street, the area where the video was shot, and Love Lane, two authorised dump sites in the city.

Images from the North Street dump had elicited a flood of comments on social media as people reacted to the rodent infestation.

“Yesterday a video was circulated and today we are here dealing with the matter,” Mayor of Montego Bay Richard Vernon told reporters as he watched a tractor clear garbage and debris from the North Street location.

“This will help because we are eradicating a site that has been seen as an active home and breeding spot for rodents,” he said.

The mayor explained that the plan had been to remove the dump later this year but the video made it clear immediate action was needed.

“The reason we are able to dispatch this quickly is because we have a mechanism in place that deals with enforcement and deals with the management of the city of Montego Bay,” added Vernon.

In 2020 the municipal corporation moved to regularise what was then an illegal dump site at North Street. According to Vernon, it has now become unmanageable as bulky waste is being deposited there.

“We saw refrigerators, we saw microwaves, washing machines being placed in this site [which] is for regular waste,” he said.

“As a result, it has now outlived its purpose and we have to pivot and think about how best we can manage waste within this district,” the mayor added.

He said there was also an issue with commercial waste.

“The truth is 80 per cent of these sites are commercial waste. If they are commercial waste then we have a challenge because it means that the business operators don’t have any contracts to cart away their waste,” Vernon insisted.

With the two dump sites no longer available, nearby communities will have to make lifestyle changes, but Vernon said they will get the support needed to make the transition.

“We will be distributing some drums within the communities that are closest to this area as an alternative means,” he said.

“They will also get updates on the schedule as to when the trucks will be coming so they can hold their waste and dispose of it when the truck is on location,” the mayor added.

The plan, he said, is to beautify both areas that were being used as dump sites.

“We did one last year, 100 per cent success. This was at the Lower Dome Street section and today it stands as a beautiful garden,” Vernon said proudly.

“We are going to do the same with these areas. We are not 100 per cent sure as to how we are going to beautify these two sections as yet. But what we are certain about is that it cannot continue as is because persons are not using it as it ought to be used — which is to properly place your waste in the skip and allow for the truck to collect it,” he insisted.

He noted that these changes will take time and the sites will be monitored to ensure there is no dumping being done at the locations as the transition is made.

“We will be installing surveillance cameras within the space so that persons who try to breach the stipulations that we are now putting in place will be faced with penalties. We are not afraid to enforce or to ensure that persons are prosecuted under the Litter Act and under the Solid Waste Management Act,” Vernon declared.

The decision to remove the skip at North Street has been welcomed by the operator of a nearby supermarket.

The Chinese man, who gave his name as Zhu, explained that they have been calling for its removal for some time.

“Yea man, I feel good with this man; more than one time we complain about it,” Zhu told the Jamaica Observer.

He shared his view on what caused the problem.

“Really it’s people around, people from up the hill, that bring the garbage come. The problem is that people don’t have conscience. They come and see the bin full and throw down right around it, it come like a dump,” he said.

“We just want to see how far this go and how long it will stay. We want to see how people go treat it,” added Zhu.