Persons caught littering in the Georgetown could soon pay a heavier fine as the city moves to increase the current fee through its new bylaws that would be tabled at the next statutory meeting.
In a statement released yesterday afternoon, Public Relations Officer Debra Lewis said the Town Clerk Royston King “will approach council at its first statutory meeting with a proposal to upgrade council’s littering by-laws… under section 304 of the Municipal and District Councils Act 28:01.”
The proposal seeks to increase the fine for littering and to introduce a ticketing system, according to the release. It would see litter-bugs paying “an increased fine to the council 72 hours from the time notice is given of the imposition of the fine.” Failure to pay the stipulated fine would attract an additional fine for every 24 hours the payment remains outstanding.
Some $48 million were spent during the last quarter of 2016, the statement said, to “aid in curbing this unfriendly environmental habit, which poses serious public health inconveniences to all citizens of Georgetown and interferes with the reputation and image of the city….”
The release noted that the collection and disposal of litter from roadways and parapets in the city accounted for a substantial portion of the council’s expenditure.
Canals were blocked and several drainage pumps operated by the council were damaged “by litter thrown by litter-bugs, who substitute these waterways for receptacles,” it added.
The council called on businesses to desist from using bins on the parapets to dispose of commercial waste and wait on garbage trucks.
“Those who dump heavy waste in these bins are destroying them and contributing to an unwholesome situation in the city,” the statement said.
