THE CONDITIONS AT the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) are improving and will continue to improve.

This assurance was given on Friday by Minister of Health, Dr Jerome Walcott, at the launch of two new SSA initiatives at the Ship Inn, St Lawrence Gap, Christ Church.

The initiatives were made possible with partnerships by the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association, Simpson Motors and the Barbados Tourism Authority.

He said the SSA had an arduous task in Barbados and commended the staff, under the lead of acting general manager Stanton Alleyne, for their hard work.

"Recently we have been having some unfortunate work stoppages which have been affecting the collection of garbage . . I find it amazing there would be a work stoppage for a few days, then you would hear people commenting their garbage has not been collected.

"These are some of the things the SSA has had to grapple with, but I am pleased to say the SSA has stepped to it," he said.

Walcott said there was still a lot of work to do and said he was not sure if he would live to see a time in Barbados where litter would be marginal and indiscriminate dumping a thing of the past, but hoped to one day see different bins for different types of garbage.

While giving an assessment of the garbage situation on the island, Minister Walcott noted that in 1995 the SSA had to cope with 300 tonnes of garbage per day, but were now handling 1000 tonnes.

"This is the sort of situation in which we find ourselves and all the more reason why there is need for these partnerships as we try to deal with this problem of solid waste management," he said.

Pointing to the "arduous" task the SSA had of providing collection for over 80,000 households as well as servicing the business sector and maintaining the streets of Bridgetown and parts of the South Coast, he lauded staffers for going about their task "in a deliberate way that ensured the public health of Barbadians were preserved".

Walcott added that the SSA assured him they were working towards the goal of having at least two collections per week for the vast majority of households, in the not too distant future.

He also disclosed an order would be placed shortly for additional collection trucks which he said was part of a decision made last year when there was a dire shortage of them.

Alleyne said only residences in the north of the island would not be getting two collections a month, but they planned to rectify this before the end of September. He added they were about to order five new small compactors for rural areas and urban alleys.

"With the co-operation of the staff, the board and the public, the future looks good," he said. (CA/PR)