MONTEGO BAY, St James — Anything you want and more can be found at the problem-plagued Retirement dump in St James, even a go-go club, according to the councillor in whose division it sits.

In fact, Councillor Michael Troupe (People’s National Party, Granville Division) is convinced that the thriving commercial activity taking place at the dump contributes to the frequent fires there that have reduced air quality across large swathes of the parish.

“Let me give you a snapshot of what the dump looks like…” he said in response to a query about whether the latest blaze had been caused by trespassers. “If you want a drink of rum there’s a bar at the Retirement dump, if you want any type clothes there is a store at the Retirement dump, and if you want medication…

“There is an active bar; if you are into go-go they have night club up there.”

He was responding, during last Thursday’s regular meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation, to a question from government senator Councillor Charles Sinclair (Jamaica Labour Party, Montego Bay North East Division).

When the Jamaica Observer visited the dump on Monday afternoon with Troupe, some of the scenes he described were easy to spot, like the car that doubles as a bar. Troupe, in order to verify is statements to the corporation, ordered a few sticks of cigarette for himself and a drink of rum for one of the workers.

Other commercial activity had to be explained, like the blue cargo container that the Observer was told was being readied for rent. For $5,500 a month, said one enterprising individual, the container offers a room, a bed and a man.

The old wooden bar and the former house of ill repute were abandoned at another section of the site, the one that had the most recent fire. Commercial activity moves wherever the dumping takes place, the Observer was told.

There is a main gate at which entry is supposed to be monitored but the Observer easily gained access using a road at the back of the dump on Monday.

The lax security measures, Troupe said at last week’s meeting, are contributing to the problems at the dump — such as the recent fire.

“I concur with Senator Sinclair. The problem is right up there. We have asked so long that any who is entitled to go inside there should be given ID. Go up there, how many persons have ID to go in there. Is the wall around the dump properly secured?” he asked rhetorically.

The last fire at the dump began on March 28 and, supported by unusually strong winds, lasted for about three days, spewing thick plumes of smoke that enveloped nearby communities.

Last Thursday, Troupe said the smoke is “still lingering”, and he warned that there is likely to be a lawsuit coming against the State-run National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA).

“The citizens of Retirement and Granville area are putting together, as a matter of fact we have engaged a lawyer. There is going to be a test case. The citizens have come together, and I myself will be a part of that and very soon it will be served on solid waste [NSWMA],” he said.

Troupe’s threat was supported by Councillor Dwight Crawford (JLP, Spring Garden Division).

“The fire at Retirement landfill is unacceptable. Persons living in Granville and Retirement area are suffering… the smoke was so thick you can cut it with a knife. It is untenable. It is very rare that both science and public opinion meet, but it is clear that it cannot continue,” he said.

His suggestion is for the landfill to be relocated as, in his view, the problems are too severe to fix.

“If we’re drawing material from as far as Westmoreland, Hanover, and Trelawny there’s no reason it should be right at the doorstep of the fastest-growing city in this hemisphere. It can be relocated. I’m recommending to solid waste that they move the dump from the town and find some abandoned cane lands where nobody lives… so if there should be a fire it would not affect thousands of residents,” said Crawford.

— Venesha Morris