SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — According to weary vendors, the Savanna-la-Mar market has been looking and smelling more like a dump than a place where food is sold on a daily basis. However, local waste management officials have hit back, placing much of the blame at the feet of vendors.

Kemar Brown, whose shop is very close to the designated garbage heap, told the Jamaica Observer he is particularly concerned about the health implications of the flies and rodents the waste attracts when it is not collected regularly.

“It affect me cause it bring a lot of fly when the garbage overflow… a heap a fly and rat come round,” complained Brown. “Four years mi a work in here now and sometimes two months pass and dem nuh collect no garbage, sometimes two weeks; and a long time dis a gwaan.”

Brown added that even when the garbage is collected, it is not done properly and lots of waste is left over, which where the rats make their home.

Fisherman Dufton Campbell had similar concerns.

“Dem will go all two weeks and the garbage nuh tek up. Sometimes we haffi gwaan bad and nuh pay no market fees fi dem come fi the garbage,” Campbell said.

However, Garnet Edmonson, the regional operations manager of Western Parks and Market (WPM) Waste Management Ltd, is refuting these claims. He said the market is given priority and the build-up of waste is often a result of vendors not properly containerising their garbage.

“There is no way that we can go up to a month without collecting garbage from the market. The municipal council checks the market regularly, but we also do random checks and clean the market regularly,” he told the Observer.

“The main problem is that the vendors are not adhering to the proper bagging of their waste. When the vendors bag their own garbage properly, it is better because our collectors don’t have to spend so much time on one location and cause a backlog for other areas like Grange Hill or Little London…Your waste, your responsibility,” he argued.

Edmonson added that he is positive the recent claims of inefficiencies in garbage collection at the market are not true as most of their trucks are equipped with GPS trackers that let them know where their teams are located at all times. This helps them keep track of the areas serviced.

The operations manager added that even though WPM has been hobbled by its limited number of trucks, he has a great team that ensures the work is done properly. He said they are planning a walk through of the market during which they will engage in dialogue with the vendors.

Meanwhile, Leona Bennett, the senior public cleansing inspector for Hanover and Westmoreland, acknowledged that sometimes the market is not thoroughly cleaned because of weather constraints. She was quick to add that, when that happens, they ensure they go back before the next market day.

“We don’t joke when it comes to the market. Ninety-five per cent of the time when the market is being cleaned, there is an inspector to oversee it. In fact, the last time the market was cleaned, I was there providing refreshments for the cleaners for over three hours while they shovelled garbage into the truck,” she said.

“If the vendors just helped by bagging their garbage properly, collection would be better,” Bennett added.