Friday, March 29, 2024

DEAR CHRISTINE – No more cells at Mangrove, please!

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Dear Christine,
I am a resident of Hoyte’s Terrace, St James. I have lived there over the last 24 years but never have I experienced the stench which emanates from the Mangrove Landfill as I now do.
When I heard the?Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler announced in the Budget that he would be opening cell No. 4 at Mangrove Landfill, I became sick in my stomach.
For the last five years the smoke and stench from that landfill has left me with one option – sell my property or remain in this garbage tainted atmosphere and suffer with health problems.
On more than one occasion I have spoken to St?James Central Democratic Labour Party (DLP) representative George Hutson or his office about the smoke coming from the landfill and the accompanying stench, to no avail. Like the people in Arch Hall, we cannot open our windows on the eastern side of our homes.
I would like the?Minister of Finance to visit Hoyte’s Terrace, Bagatelle, and the surrounding districts before he starts cell No.4.
The Mangrove Landfill is terrible! It is hot! It is Stinkeroo! Lord help us! Mangrove is a health hazard.
– CONCERNED?RESIDENT
Dear Concerned Resident,
I travel along the highway each morning and have noticed that the smell from the Mangrove Landfill seems to be getting worse. I could therefore only imagine the discomfort people living close by and down-draft must be experiencing.
Your claim that the scent is worst now than it has been in 24 years is a serious one, as the health problems that people developed in nearby Bennetts and Arch Hall, St Thomas, as a result of the fumes and fires from the landfill are well documented.
Back then in the early 1990s when the landfill was belching these noxious fumes, it was a case of not enough resources being expended to manage the operation properly. One wonders if this may be happening again.
I strongly suggest you contact the Sanitation Service Authority who are responsible for the daily administration of the site and let them know of your concern.
I would also suggest you get together with people in your neighbourhood and sign a petition calling for an end to these fumes from the landfill. Accompanying that petition should be a document in which each resident should list how the smells are inconveniencing them and whatever respiratory or other health challenges that they suspect have developed given their prolonged exposure to the effects of the landfill.
It makes no sense suffering in silence – that gets you nowhere.  I hope this helps.
– Christine

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