SSA warns event organisers to dispose of waste properly

The Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) is cautioning promoters and stall operators to ensure waste generated at events this Crop Over season is disposed of in a legal, safe and timely manner.

Public Relations Officer for the SSA Carl Padmore told Barbados TODAY the agency has already noticed a worrying trend in which some private haulers were dumping garbage at illegal sites although they had been paid to take it to the approved dump.

He said the shortcuts being taken by waste haulers were making life difficult for the SSA which has to clear the illegal dump sites.

“We are cautioning promoters of private events, if [you] are paying a hauler to remove waste from your property or where the event is being held, it is your duty to ensure that that said waste goes to the Mangrove Pond Landfill in Vaucluse,” Padmore said.

“What we are finding is that not all the waste that has been removed from events so far for the season [is] going or [has] gone to the Mangrove Pond Landfill. That is why we are seeing a build-up [of garbage] as well across the country.”

The PRO further suggested that with this year’s hurricane season predicted to be an above-normal one, organisers should take extra precautions to ensure that no waste generated from their events makes its way into the island’s gullies and water courses.

“When a private hauler just discards of waste in gullies and in cart roads, those things make it into the water stream, they block the natural water courses, and, therefore, it poses additional problems for us, not only at SSA but for the drainage crews, for the Ministry of Health, [and] for the Ministry of Transport and Works,” Padmore said.

“It has a ripple effect. It will also pose a major challenge for those persons living in areas near the water courses because once there is a backup and the water is not flowing, the water then tends to find its way into homes and businesses.”

Padmore said the SSA is aware of the significant changes made to several large Crop Over events, including Grand Kadooment, and it is finalising plans to ensure crews and equipment are ready for the clean-up exercise that will follow the first Crop Over climax since 2019. (SB)