The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

RESIDENTS living near a dump by the Golden Gates Shopping Plaza say they have been left to endure a persistent foul stench despite repeated complaints to their MP and government agencies, with no resolution in sight.

The Tribune understands the site, used by vendors at a nearby farmers market, contains fish, conch and other organic waste, producing an odour that lingers even after garbage is collected.

Residents of Dominica Way say the problem extends beyond the smell, citing flies, rats, maggots and drainage runoff. Several said efforts to get authorities to intervene have failed.

Lakeisha, 47, who has lived in the area for more than three decades, said residents first approached the Department of Environmental Health Services but were redirected.

“They stated to us they will see what they can do, but it was placed there by our minister [MP], so we were directed to go back to her office,” she said. “We went back to her office, and nothing has been resolved.”

DEHS director Launa Williams told The Tribune she was unaware of the issue and said an inspection team would be dispatched.

Lakeisha said the situation continues to disrupt daily life.

“As much as we complain about it, nothing is being done,” she said. “They’re still throwing the conch and the fish slop inside the bin.”

She added that the problem has worsened as others outside the farmers' market use the site.

Anthony Rahming, who lives nearby, said the bin was placed roughly 30 feet from his home despite objections.

He said vendors regularly dispose of organic waste there, contributing to the smell.

Mr Rahming said he has been unable to determine who approved the placement, describing being sent between agencies without answers.

“They tell me go to Physical Planning, and Physical Planning tell me they need this, go back to them,” he said. “No one won’t give me an answer.”

Kathy Robinson, a long-time resident of Dominica Way and Guadeloupe Street, described the conditions as “very unpleasant”.

“Me and my neighbors have to deal with the daily stench from the fish and the conch,” she said, adding that the smell prevents residents from opening their homes.

“You can’t open your windows in your home, your door,” she said.

“It’s been like this for over two years, maybe three,” she added. “They try to take the garbage every day, but sometimes it’s not taken out every day, and even when it’s taken out, the flies, and the smell and the maggots and the rats remain — it’s horrible.”

She said the stench also makes it difficult to spend time outside.

“Nobody in that area can go out on any given day. Let’s say the power goes off and you want to sit outside. You can’t go outside to sit because the stench will kill you,” Ms Robinson said.

Ms Robinson said she contacted Golden Gates MP Pia Glover-Rolle but received no follow-up.

“I did speak to her once and she said she would call me back,” she said. “That was about three years ago. I probably still have the message in my phone. I’m still waiting on her to call me back.”

Christopher Burrows, 73, who has lived in the area since 1977, said the smell reaches his home, even though it is about 200 feet away.

“My house is about roughly 200 or so feet away, and you can still smell it,” he said.

He said vendors had indicated changes would be made, including using a solution to clean the area daily, but he has not seen that happen.

However, Golden Gates MP Glover-Rolle said the issue is longstanding and linked to the nature of the market noting that odours have emanated from the market “for many, many years.”

She said systems are currently in place for daily garbage removal and sanitisation in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, but acknowledged that a seafood market in a residential community was not ideal.

Mrs Glover-Rolle said the government is working on long-term solutions, including the introduction of a macerator system to process seafood byproducts into a central waste system, along with upgrades to stalls such as running water and stainless steel infrastructure to better contain waste and odours.

She said the issue dates back more than a decade but has improved over time, and noted that the market is currently in phase two of a four-phase redevelopment aimed at modernisation, sanitation, and sustainability, with the goal of providing residents with a cleaner, odour-free environment.

She said some residents have indicated that she has given more attention to addressing the market’s longstanding issues than previous MPs.