If caught, the individual(s) responsible for the most recent act of illegal dumping on a site near to medical facilities stand to face heavy penalties.

Members of the Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU) visited the site on the Road to Leeward on Tuesday, following {{more}}reports of illegal dumping, on a vacant lot situated near to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, a medical clinic and opposite a pharmacy.

Solid waste manager Winsbert Quow told the media that this act of illegal dumping highlights an ongoing issue his department has to deal with, as people seemed not to be concerned about the nation’s image or the environment.

“Now our Diamond landfill is open from six to six, from Monday to Saturday and it is about 30 minutes from this site. There is absolutely no reason why someone could tell me to justify what they have just done here. It really reflects poorly on us as a country,” Quow said.

Broken furniture, old mattresses, items of clothing, books and white goods were among some of the items dumped on the site. The officials believe that the act took place sometime during the night on Monday.

“This person I think should be made to take full responsibility for this action. We have contacted the police and we are urging anyone with information to also call the police and give them the details. This is a crime under the Litter Act, number 15 of 1991 and I think it’s about time our people start seeing it as such,” Quow said.

“We have been trying hard for many years to get Vincentians to comply, just to do the basic things, put out your garbage for garbage collection day, make use of our white goods service and just abide with the laws of our country and sometimes we feel a little bit deflated when we see things like this happening.”

Joan Ryan, public relations and marketing officer at the Central Water and Sewerage Authority highlighted that it was the unit’s responsibility to collect garbage from households and some businesses. However, it was not their duty to clean up after an individual once they have engaged in the act of illegal dumping.

“The thing about this is this location is on a vacant piece of lot that persons seem to think it’s ok to throw stuff on vacant piece of lots whether it belongs to them or not. But I just want to warn the public that even though the vacant lot belongs to you, as long as what you have dumped on the lot becomes a public nuisance, it is illegal dumping and you are breaking the law. If you have dumped it on somebody else’s land, its double,” she said.

Ryan revealed that a name and number was found on a piece of paper in the garbage and that while it may not be the individual that dumped the items on the site, it is possible that the person would have been in contact with the individual listed on the paper. It is the intention of the unit to contact this person and do investigations in an attempt to find the culprit.

“We have to be more responsible. This is all of our business. We would like for persons to come forward and let us know who did this illegal act,” Ryan said.

The fine for an individual caught in the act of illegal dumping is up to $5000. If a business is caught in the act, fines can be as much as $500,000.(BK)