People are illegally dumping household waste in both public and private zones around the Island. And the illegal activity may increase, according to waste education and enforcement officer Ms Jane Brett.

Even though the Tynes Bay plant on Palmetto Road offers the public access to a drop off facility every day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., residents are still unloading their garbage in parks, on roadsides and on private and government properties.

"Illegal dumping tends to pick up during the summer,'' said Ms Brett.

"People are doing a lot of cleaning and they either don't want to wait until their garbage pick-up day or they have big items which they don't want to cart down to Tynes Bay.'' For whatever reason, all types of waste from regular garbage to mattresses and old clothes are being found around the Island.

And controlling the problem is not easy, said Ms Brett. "If I find out about areas where garbage has been illegally dumped, I'll go to the site and look through the garbage. If I find envelopes with at least ten of the same addresses on them, I can be fairly sure whose garbage it is.

"Then I'll call up the person. But sometimes, the people involved will say they hired a truck to take away their garbage, which then may have dumped it illegally. It's very difficult to find out who really dumped it.'' Ms Brett said she believes the illegal practice may increase next month with the introduction of a levy on unseparated garbage.

Starting on August 7, truckers and the general public will have to pay a handling charge on garbage that is not separated, according to Minister of Works & Engineering the Hon. Leonard Gibbons, who urged truckers in particular to heed the warnings or face the costly consequences.

The fines will be as follows: $100 for any load that contains waste that must be reduced in size, or transported to another facility, for instance large carpets or lumber; $200 for any improperly delivered load that contains pollutants such as motor oil or fluorescent lamps; and $300 for any improperly delivered load that contains waste which is dangerous to workers or to the facility staff such as gasoline, solvents or pesticides.

The Ministry of Works & Engineering said it regretted having to impose the fines but felt they were necessary due to the increased costs of having to carry out additional work.

Whether or not the fines will prompt more people to illegally dump their waste has yet to be seen, said Ms Brett, who urges people to take the time to separate their garbage and dispose of it in the designated areas.

MINI SUPPLEMENT SUP