Rasbert Turner, Star Writer

The National Solid Waste Management Agency (NSWMA) on Tuesday continued its drive to curtail the problem of illegal dumping, this time in sections of Portmore, where they carried out extensive operations.

From as early as 8:30 a.m., the team from the NSWMA, along with several members of the Municipal Police, visited the Newland, Naggo Head and Old Braeton communities, where shop operators and owners of other establishments were served with notices to remove waste that was not properly disposed of.

no-nonsense approach

Executive director of the NSWMA, Joan Gordon-Webley, said the agency would be taking a no-nonsense approach to the violations of the garbage- disposal guidelines.

"We will be going through every little pathway in Jamaica to address the disposal of garbage. For too long persons just give a man a 'thing' to put away the garbage. This needs to stop,'' Gordon-Webley said.

During the exercise, a betting shop, along with other businesses, got summonses for littering, while others were told they needed to put proper plans in place to deal with the disposal of their garbage.

number of diseases

Gordon-Webley continued that the improper placement of garbage could result in a number of diseases. Additionally, she said, this could also result in rats and other rodents and insects flourishing in locations were proper disposal guidelines were not followed.

In the meanwhile, Gordon-Webley promised to also embark on educating residents as to why they should take pride in how they dispose of their refuse and treat their surroundings at large.

Persons in the areas where Tuesday's operation took place told THE PORTMORE STAR that they needed more garbage trucks to assist them in disposing of their waste as they were sometimes forced to use methods that were not prescribed by law to dump their garbage.

THE PORTMORE STAR was told that fines of up to $100,000 could be imposed on anyone found guilty of breaches of the NSWMA Act.