Georgetown: The untidy outlook of city markets is in a large measure a result of the actions of vagrants who recklessly dispose of vendors' waste and the untimely collection of it.
This is according to vendors who spoke with Clean Green Guyana/ Guyenterprise during a visit to Bourda market this week.
They say some of the vagrants do not properly dispose of waste collected from vendors' stalls.
One vendor said "Some of them, when they see the bins them full, they just dump the garbage right there next to it".
Another said "Is de junkies, when you pay them, they don't care where they throw de garbage"
These were the sentiments expressed by the majority of vendors who sought to give some reasoning regarding the wanton disposal of garbage around the market area.
However, some stall holders have taken full responsibility for the vagrants' actions, noting that as stall owners employing the vagrants' services, they should ensure their waste is properly disposed of.
"I gon admit, I don't always see to it that they throw it the right place", one stall holder confessed.
Another vendor revealed that the vagrants would even raid some of the waste for items that seem good enough to sell.
"When you see some of them junkies walking 'round with thing in they hand selling, is from de garbage they get it and people in car does buy it from them", she said.
She also highlighted that at nights, some of the vagrants would dump garbage right within the market.
Vendors also complained about the untimely collection of garbage, noting that Cevon’s Waste Management Inc. did a better job when they were employed.
However, Director of the Solid Waste Management Unit at the Mayor and City Council, Walter Narine, during an interview with Clean Green Guyana/ Guyenterprise, dismissed the claims of irregular garbage removal, pointing out that the council’s compactor is making four trips per day to collect waste from market areas.
He explained that the vendors would accumulate the waste and the compactors would subsequently remove it.
Narine also acknowledged the actions of the vagrants in adding to the untidy surroundings of the markets. He noted that it is an old and ongoing issue, since the vagrants search bins for food or things to sell.
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