The city garbage collection schedule has returned to a state of normalcy according to Mayor and City Council’s Public Relations Officer Debra Lewis.
Lewis yesterday told Stabroek News that they resumed collection on Wednesday night and have been able to get back in line with the collection schedule. She stated that since the trucks from Puran Brothers Disposal arrived in the city yesterday afternoon, they have been working.
Puran Brothers Disposal Inc, one of the city’s contracted garbage collectors, had been unable to collect garbage in the city since Monday after damage to the Demerara Harbour Bridge prevented its trucks from crossing.
The company on Wednesday said that it hired a barge to transport four trucks across the Demerara River to resume garbage collection.
On Wednesday evening, one of the trucks began operating in the Kitty/Subryanville area, according to a social media post by the City’s Director of Solid Waste, Walter Narine.
Despite the Mayor and City Council’s announcement that an alternative arrangement was in place, garbage was seen piled up across central Georgetown and Kitty. Garbage bins filled to capacity have been observed outside of homes and businesses waiting to be emptied.
According to a statement from the council, the Solid Waste Management Department had put in place an emergency collection system to bring quick relief to residents as the Mayor and Councillors worked to restore regular collection.
Kalesh Puran, Managing Director of the operations said that while they understand how vital their service is to the city, they were caught off guard by the accident on the bridge.
He stated that for the past six years, the company has been working to lease lands from the council to operate from within the city but they have not received any word on the possibility of such a development.
“Nobody over the years assisted us with getting these lands to operate. We have been looking at finding a suitable area for the trucks in the city but our request is still be addressed. Over five, six years we have applied for lands to operate but we haven’t gotten it. I have spoken to the Mayor [Ubraj Narine] and he said to resend an application and we will be doing so,” Puran responded, when asked why his company doesn’t have an operations base in the city.
If the company is given adequate lands, Puran said they would be able to house about eight trucks at the operations base.
