The collection of waste from parapets across Georgetown is set to resume as part of a renewed effort to tackle garbage accumulation and improve the cleanliness of the city.

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Priya Manickchand announced the measure in a video message on Friday, outlining several steps being taken to address what she described as longstanding challenges with garbage collection and disposal.

The minister said parapet waste collection was discontinued around 2016 or 2017, leaving residents without a reliable means of having waste placed along roadways collected.

She said the government will work with City Hall to reinstate the service as part of a wider push to improve garbage collection.

The Minister also addressed missed household collections, noting that garbage contractors currently have up to 48 hours to correct a missed pickup.

According to Manickchand, discussions have been held with the contractors, who have agreed to changes to the arrangement.

She said contractors will now be required to address missed collections, with the authorities prepared to undertake the collection and charge the contractor if the required service is not provided.

“We can no longer be unreliable and unpredictable,” she stressed.

Another measure will see large skip bins placed at locations where illegal dumping has become common. Minister Manickchand stressed that the bins are not intended to encourage dumping, but to provide a temporary means of containing waste while more reliable collection services are established.

A second garbage collection will also be introduced in densely populated communities in collaboration with City Hall and the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development.

The initiative is intended to prevent garbage from overflowing from collection points and ending up on roads and in drains.

Manickchand also appealed to residents to take greater responsibility for keeping public spaces clean.

“We are asking you to stop being litterbugs, stop behaving nasty, stop dropping your KFC box or your styrofoam box or your plant and chip bag on the road. Put it in your pocket, put it in your car, carry it home, put it in the bin and it will be picked up by City Hall, by us, by the contracted garbage collectors. We are also working with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Guyana Police Force to make sure we utilize Court 10, the Municipal Court, to charge people, businesses, old people, young people or friends or political opponents, single parents, don’t come with any of those excuses,” she said.

Meanwhile, the government plans to expand the cleanup effort beyond Georgetown, using government-provided tractors, trailers and garbage trucks to support garbage collection in communities.

Independent monitors will also be deployed to oversee collection activities and report directly to the Ministry, with the aim of ensuring that garbage collection is carried out as required.

Manickchand said the measures are intended to address one of the recurring concerns raised by residents and to support efforts to restore Georgetown and communities across the country to a cleaner state.

“ In a very short time, we intend to clean this up. We’re also going to roll that out on every NDC using the tractors and trailers that are provided by the government, using the garbage trucks that are provided by the government and monitors that will make sure that this happens. Get ready for a clean city,” she said.