Changes in garbage collection coming

A truck for collecting recyclable garbage was donated by Embassy of Japan
A truck for collecting recyclable garbage was donated by Embassy of Japan

Acting General Manager of the Dominica Solid Waste Management Corporation (DSWMC), Florian Mitchel, has said that there will be a few changes in terms of garbage collection this year.

He told DNO that the changes will assist the Corporation in facilitating its Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (3R) Initiative.

The 3R Initiative, launched by the DSWMC recently, sees recyclable material collected separately from regular garbage.

Mitchel said the communities of Canefield, Wallhouse and Loubiere will see a change in their garbage collection soon.

“Most of our communities we have a twice weekly collection and within the next quarter we are planning on making some changes in Canefield, Wallhouse and Loubiere zone to have once weekly collections and we would have a specific day for recycling,” he explained. “So that is one of the things we want to push forward in this first quarter.”

Mitchel also mentioned that the DSWMC is working on a United Nations Environmental Project (UNEP) that will focus on improving waste management at local hotels.

“We are trying to set up a waste management system specifically designed for the waste industry with recycling at the forefront,” he stated.

According to him the project is still in developmental phase but it should begin in the first few months in 2015.

Meantime, he is calling on manufacturers of plastics and other recyclable materials to be more mindful of their role in terms of collecting and disposing of these items.

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17 Comments

  1. hmmm
    January 27, 2015

    Sir, while I am all for recycling I would just like to have my garbage picked up regularly. Sometimes 3 weeks before you guys pick up garbage. And by then it piles up and the dogs and other animals will get into it. And that brings rats and cockroaches. Just disgusting. If you all can’t pick it up regularly then bring back the skips that can at least hold a lot and keep it contained. Because the present system is just lacking. Pure coshoni.

  2. yes i
    January 27, 2015

    two days is not even enough for garbage collection now you going to cut down to one? what de joke that!!

  3. Love All
    January 26, 2015

    Sometimes a whole month passes before garbage is collected in my area. I think we should go back to those huge bins and place them at strategic points east, west, north and south of the island . In those areas you would have bins for garbage and those for recycling. The areas would be fenced and a designated time would be implemented for dumping. That’s an opportunity to employ at least four people. Also those people with heavy garbage would use those facilitates for disposal. How are you going pay? Add an environmentally charge to payments ordered by the court.

  4. anonymous2
    January 26, 2015

    The whole process of collecting refuse needs an overhaul in DA. Some places hardly get any refuse pick up. Recycle bins need to be set up in communities and people need to dispose of the recyclables in those bins. Don’t depend on the garbage company for this. The garbage company can pick it up every 2 weeks. The recyclabes would be crushed and exported.

  5. concerned
    January 26, 2015

    A questin remains: why is garbage collected during the day and not ant night time? or from 5 am? The water that falls from truck will not spoil your whole day? When will there be a daily collect of garbage in Portsmouth?

  6. Plato
    January 26, 2015

    I am not excited. Sorry Mr Mitchel needs to better what he is now doing before he goes into other things. There are areas on the island where garbage is not collected for weeks. Mr Mitchel also needs to be professional. When reports are made to him instead of chastising his employees he tells them who you are and they meet you and tell you off.

    • The Facts
      January 26, 2015

      These reports should be made to his department and not directly to him. There should be a telephone number that you could report non-garbage pickup without having to divulge who you are and giving your name. All which should be needed is the area where the garbage was not picked up. This AGM needs to look into that.

  7. Hmmmm
    January 26, 2015

    DSWMC please start recycling in PORTSMOUTH. Thanks

  8. mee too
    January 26, 2015

    Within that new changes – the safety and wellbeing of the workers MUST be looked into also. Collecting garbage on open trucks in dangerous for all especially the workers. The workers should not be flinging water logged garbage up on trucks – the water fall back on their faces – and who knows what is in the bags.

    • The Facts
      January 26, 2015

      Why is water in the garbage? Garbage should not contain any water. Furthermore, a proper garbage bag should be used for garbage. It should be properly sealed so as to avoid leakage of any sort.

  9. ParoInRoseau
    January 26, 2015

    Though there are some areas that need to revised in terms of our garbage collection so far the garbage issue is getting there. Even some of the workers are doing a great job. I saw a dog destroy a garbage bag leaving the rubbish all over the sidewalk and a worker literally came and took a box and put the rubbish inside the box and disposed of it properly…I commended him on the job. I must give him a cold kubuli anytime I see him again.

  10. January 26, 2015

    Hello and good morning my people. Why don’t they pick up the regular garbage and recyclables on Tuesdays then pick up just regular garbage on Fridays. We must pick up regular garbage twice a week a specially in Roseau and Portsmouth. Many of our elected officials have traveled outside of Dominica therefore they should be able to observe how things work in develope countries and be able to transfer this knowledge to our country . There isn’t anything difficult in putting a proper plan in action to recycle and collect the trash which help to keep our people healthy and keep our country clean.

  11. CYRIL Volney
    January 26, 2015

    “Most of our communities we have a twice weekly collection….”! Whoa! Hold Your Horses! Are we living on de same Island? Where you come up with that…ner?

    Mister Mitchel, in Wesley, Commonwealth of Dominica, we are lucky to get garbage picked up twice a month…. Respectfully, can we concentrate simply on regular garbage collection, before we get fancy….

  12. Drew George
    January 26, 2015

    Okay. So in the mean time, what are the people of Canefield supposed to do? Garbage collectors hardly pass in Canefield; or maybe you all forgot about particular streets. When we put out waste on required days, it stays here. The dogs carries it all over the place. Soon we might just have an infestation of rats, which isn’t good. We all know what they carry!

  13. timtim
    January 26, 2015

    Recycling is the least of our worries. The system we have for basic collection is so broken it is unexplainable. In the rural areas u have no idea if the truck will show on the designated day. Three weeks can go by without any collection. You can imagine the mess on side roads, the rat, and roach problems from that. People are not encouraged or forced to put out there garbage in drums or barrels. Plastic bags are not adequate in the current circumstances. It is those who live alongside the road who suffer the most. This is just a tip of the problem.

    I can’t believe SWC does not know this and instead of fixing it we gone into recycling. Chueepse!

  14. angel
    January 26, 2015

    at last ……. though these people never traveled to see how it s done in other countries

  15. nature lover
    January 26, 2015

    :-D It is about time! Time to Recycle.

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