FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Tired of being blamed for filthy conditions in the parish capital — despite the municipal authority’s ongoing efforts to keep the town clean — chairman of the Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC) C Junior Gager says a major clean-up is being planned, alongside tougher measures to punish litterbugs.

Gager said the corporation will be working with the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), the health department, and the police to tackle indiscriminate dumping, particularly in Water Square and the town’s bus park.

Speaking during Thursday’s regular monthly meeting of the TMC, Gager warned that vendors who fail to maintain proper sanitation standards could be removed from Water Square, while people caught littering could face prosecution.

“It is the responsibility of those who use Water Square to keep it clean.

Mayor of Falmouth C Junior Gager (left) addressing the regular monthly meeting of the Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC) on Thursday while TMC Chief Executive Officer Andrew Harrison listens. (Photos: Horace Hines)

Those who are selling, if you don’t have a bag to put your garbage in, you should not be selling there.

You should also be required to keep your surroundings clean,” Gager said.

He appealed to vendors to take greater responsibility for the conduct of their customers by encouraging them to use the garbage receptacles provided, rather than leaving bottles and other waste scattered around the square.

Gager also urged members of the public to get involved in naming and shaming litterbugs.

“Once you see someone that decides that they’d want to discard garbage any and everywhere, just take a picture and send it to us.

We are going to be having a page, and we are going to be naming you.

I hope it will shame you, and to say keep the place clean,” he said.

The mayor expressed particular concern about plastic drink bottles being carelessly discarded, creating additional work for municipal crews.

“If you look and you go by the bus park, one of the greatest disasters is that when you drink, you just throw down the bottles.

In no time at all the wind comes; they are blown into the drain, and all of these bottles keep swimming, swimming in the drain,” added Gager.

He argued that while social media users play an important role in highlighting problems in the town, some fail to appreciate the resources being spent to maintain public spaces and clear drains.

“We could do something else with it [money] if everyone was just cooperative and, as you pass, you drop your bottle into the bin that is provided,” Gager said.

Following reports that some people pay handymen or cart men to remove garbage, only for it to be dumped in unauthorised locations, Gager said the municipal corporation intends to work with NSWMA to monitor how businesses dispose of their waste.

“We are going to start tracing some of these garbage and see where it is coming from,” he vowed.

The mayor also raised concern about food waste being discarded by vendors, particularly those selling soup and chicken, warning that the practice attracts rats and contributes to the growing rodent problem in the town.

“You throw it by the roadside, you throw it in a culvert, the rats come out and eat it, so they multiply fast — and they are all over the town.

We cannot allow this, so we’ll have to put some strong measures in place,” warned Gager.

He said the planned clean-up would not just be a one-time event and there are plans to ensure that improvements are sustained, with residents, vendors, and business operators playing their part in keeping Falmouth clean.