Residents claim side men on garbage trucks demanding money

Residents of Waterloo in St Catherine are accusing some 'side men' on Metropolitan Parks and Market (MPM) trucks of ordering them to pay for their garbage to be collected.

Councillor Enos Lawrence, of the De La Vega division of the St Catherine Municipal Corporation, raised the issue at a recent meeting of the corporation. Speaking directly to Daniel Heavens, MPM manager for St Catherine, he asked: ''Is it the practice of the MPM sidemen to collect $1,500 before dem collect you garbage sir?"

"People are suffering. One such area is Waterloo. Garbage pile-up that need to be collected now," Lawrence said. ''For sometime now, we have been asking for attention to be given to the community and still nothing is happening." Heavens said that if the allegations are true, this is a breach.

"Only monitors are able to collect from the collection of certain garbage. Our side men and drivers are not supposed to collect any fees. We will be looking into the collection to have it addressed,'' he said. When the news team visited Waterloo on Sunday, garbage was strewn about the road, attracting the attention of dogs.

"This is very sad as the man dem want money. Some tell mi fi burn it as it is bush that is in the garbage bag," one resident said. "The man dem just ignoring the work and it is unfortunate."

One resident said that while there is a need for the garbage to be collected, proper guidelines must be established.

"When I complain, one of the workers on the truck told me to burn the garbage as it was trash," he said. "As I know that it is wrong to burn garbage in the community, I am troubled by this suggestion. We just need urgent help."

The residents stressed that the garbage needs to be collected as there are babies and elderly people in the community, so burning the waste will adversely affect their health. For many sections of Spanish Town and its environs, the practice of burning uncollected garbage is common.

"Some of the problem is due to the negligence of people who dispose [their garbage] wherever and the failure to maintain a proper schedule in some cases," said Michelle Davis, who is a resident of John's Road.