DEH issues illegal dumping warning as bulk waste piles appear

The Department of Environmental Health is warning people not to dump bulk waste items in public spaces as this practice is illegal.

DEH Director Richard Simms, in a statement late last week, reminded residents that this year’s bulk waste collection has already been completed.

That campaign, he said, took place earlier in May, replacing the traditional November schedule.

“Any bulk waste placed in the curbside and/or empty lot will be considered illegal dumping/littering and should be reported. The shifting of the annual collection of bulk waste from November to May, ahead of the Hurricane Season, was largely advertised and successfully completed in an effort to reduce the amount of debris that could be generated by any form of severe weather,” Simms said.

Individuals wishing to dispose of any bulk waste are required to make alternative arrangements to transport these materials to the George Town landfill or the landfills operating in the Sister Islands, the DEH statement said.

It added that the department’s team of environmental health officers has strengthened its community monitoring programme.

“On a once-weekly basis, this activity is carried out to identify and promptly address obvious environmental health issues, including littering and illegal dumping,” the statement said.

Even so, the DEH is still asking the public to report any illegal dumping and littering to the DEH or the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service.

“This unlawful practice can result in a penalty of 6 months of imprisonment and a minimum fine of $500,” the statement added.

On Tuesday, 22 Aug., Gayon Omar Harris, of West Bay, became the first person to be successfully prosecuted, convicted and fined for littering since the Litter Act was initially enacted in 1982.

He received a $100 fine and a $100 cost order for a guilty plea to a charge of littering in a public place.

The charge stemmed from an act of illegal dumping, in which Harris discarded an old sofa on a public plot of land.

The location is normally used as a collection site for the Department of Environmental Health’s annual island-wide clean-up.

However, at the time of the offence, the DEH had already completed collection at the site and had erected signs warning people not to litter – signs that Harris apparently ignored.

The DEH noted that the public can use the George Town landfill, which operates from 7am to 5pm on weekdays, and until 1pm on Saturdays, and is closed on Sundays.

The landfill drop-off facility at the gate will remain accessible to the public and small vehicles 24 hours a day.

For more information, call the DEH at 949-6696 or email [email protected].