This overflowing garbage bin in the 2 North community in Portmore is one of many. Residents told 'The Portmore Star' that for the past three months garbage trucks only visit the community every two to three weeks. As a result, the area is suffering from a plague of flies and maggots along with a strong stench. - Norman Grindley

AS PART of our mission to be the People Paper, THE WEEKEND STAR has been highlighting problem areas across the island. Our reporter, Carolyn Johnson, along with photographer Norman Grindley, will focus on a particular area until the problem is fixed. Now we will have a rough idea of how long the relevant authorities take to deal with some of the problems affecting our country.

Two weeks ago, we looked at the issue of garbage collection in the Greater Portmore, St. Catherine area. Then, residents were complaining that they were swimming in garbage along with the creepy, crawly insects which accompany the waste. They said the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) was doing a slack job.

Anthony Hamilton has since told the WEEKEND STAR that the garbage has been collected with the trucks passing by once per week. While he is somewhat satisfied with the improvement, he is still hoping they will keep to their twice per week commitment.

One resident, however, said the problem still persisted in his area. He said he had had to wait as long as three weeks to have his waste collected. Still, Ivan Hayden, Metropolitan Parks and Markets (MPM) manager for the St. Catherine region, has a slightly different take on the story.

Hayden said the company was indeed doing an effective job. He pointed out that in the metroplitian area, there had been an increase in the solid waste generation as this was the Christmas season. He said among the garbage they were seeing a lot of cuttings and bulky waste (old fridges and stoves). He said that by the time they moved with two bags of garbage, on their return three days later, there were four more bags. They, however, do their best to visit twice per week, but said most persons seemed satisfied with once per week as long as the trucks are punctual.

He asked that the garbage be bagged, and left at the gate as garbage was collected from curb to curb as they do not enter people's yards. While he admitted that the MPM sometimes had breakdowns and backlogs, Hayden maintained that these were cleared up within 48 hours of reporting. He asked for persons to call as soon as there was an issue and not to wait for the stink.