Cemeteries being used as dumping grounds – SSA

Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) officials have expressed concern about the “abuse” of the island’s cemeteries, as it disclosed that people have been dumping large appliances and other junk in graveyards.

Superintendent of Cemeteries Stephen Niles, SSA Public Relations Officer Carl Alff Padmore and his assistant Ricardo Nurse on Monday spoke out after discovering illegal dumping at the Christ Church Parish Church Cemetery.

“What we have here happening, not only here, but persons are bringing home appliances here,” Padmore said.

“As you can see, this Skip is here for the expressed purpose of when we finish cut graves that we can have the grass here, but persons are bringing stoves, sometimes we find tyres and different things here. This can’t be good, because the Skips are for the purposes of the SSA.”

Padmore pointed out that cemeteries are private property and people who use them for the wrong purposes can be prosecuted.

“Let us understand that the cemetery is private property. It’s public for the purpose that you come to attend a funeral, or you come to pay respect during opening hours to your loved one that has passed. You don’t come here and bring what is from your house onto the property. When we checked, you can be prosecuted for doing that. We would like persons to desist from doing that,” he said.

The SSA spokesman also expressed concern about the number of abandoned vehicles parked on cemetery property.

“What we are appealing to persons is if you have your vehicle on the premises, or on the surroundings of our cemeteries, please remove them.

“We believe in moral suasion first. We believe in trying to get people to do the right thing. SSA will never come with a big stick first, even before dealing with the law. Let us use the media to see if these persons can do the right thing,” Padmore said.

The SSA team also appealed to the public to refrain from loitering in cemeteries.

“We don’t want you to damage a cross or damage a tombstone. Don’t sit on people’s tombstones, and things like that,” he said.
(BT)