Officials from the SWMC appeared on “Working for You” on Wednesday, March 18 to discuss several issues as it pertains to waste management. They appealed to the public to protect the bins as opposed to vandalizing them as this could result in serious repercussions as is outlined in the Solid Waste Management Act, 2009.
“No Person shall interfere with any receptacle, whether public or private, in which litter is placed for collection, or interfere with the contents of the receptacle or remove any litter from the receptacle without the consent of the owner of the receptacle,” said Inita Lake, Collections Manager, while referencing the Act.
Any person found vandalizing any receptacle will be fined or in some cases be imprisoned. Keithley Phillip, General Manager, strongly appealed for persons to obey the law. He encouraged them to familiarize themselves with the Act which can be found online.
He called on the general public to cooperate fully. He said that there is no hidden political agenda surrounding the bins.
“We crave the cooperation of our citizens. Please let us not for one reason or the other let some foolishness get into our heads. If you do not want the bins just indicate and then a conversation can be held and that may change your mind. But for whatever other reasons, please note that it is a national initiative,” said Mr. Phillip, noting that “there is a reason why the bins” are outfitted with the colours “outside of what persons are conceiving in their heads.”
Yellow is internationally recognised as the colour for safety.
Ms. Lake encouraged persons to “keep their bins as clean as possible” adding that once finished with them, “it would be good if you hose them out so that you can continue with a clean environment.”
