by MARIA BRADSHAW

PRIVATE GARBAGE COLLECTION COMPANIES are in the dumps.

The three-day work stoppage by employees of the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) has led to a severe back-up of garbage for them because the Mangrove Landfill is closed.

Albert Jordan, manager of Garbage Gobbler, frustratedly declared that he was up in arms because there was nowhere to dump the collection.

"Right now we can't do anything," he stated.

Over at Simpson Trucking, at the Belle Plantation, St Michael, a spokesperson said their employees had been forced to stay home while their trucks were already filled to the brim with collected garbage.

"My boss is in a stew right now. We have no skips available to keep the garbage. We have picked up the garbage from our regular customers and we have two trucks which are full right now. It is a mess."

He added the company was trying to co-ordinate collection from its customers so that no one became inconvenienced, but he admitted there was a backlog of work.

"We have nowhere to take the garbage and we can't dump illegally," the spokesperson said.

Ernest King, of Oscar Services, also said it was "tough" on his company.

He pointed out his compactors were designed to take excess loads, but they would soon reach their capacity.

"There is no alternative other than the landfill. If our compactors become full, we will be in a bind."

King said he had been receiving a lot of calls from customers asking him to collect refuse, but his company was focusing only on its regular customers.

"Our customers include a number of hotels and persons in the retail industry and we have to deal with them first. We cannot take on any new clients," he said.

"I really hope that this situation is resolved very quickly because it could have serious implications. The small players in the field may be tempted to resort to illegal dumping."