The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Digital Editor

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THE Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources has begun a major clean-up exercise in Nassau Village, targeting long-standing illegal dumping sites and announcing plans for a permanent transfer station to curb indiscriminate disposal of waste.

Acting Minister of Environment Zane Lightbourne and Nassau Village MP Jamahl Strachan spoke to media yesterday as heavy equipment removed derelict vehicles, bulk waste and construction debris from several locations in the constituency.

Mr Lightbourne said the initiative followed a site visit one week earlier, on January 8, after concerns were raised by Mr Strachan about widespread dumping.

“We saw indiscriminate dumping of boats, vehicles, bulk items and residential garbage,” Mr Lightbourne said. “This is hazardous not only to the environment, but to the health of our people. Adjacent properties had effectively become mini dumpsites, and that is unacceptable.”

He said the clean-up will continue over the next several days, with teams from the Department of Environmental Health removing debris across multiple sites.

As part of the effort, Mr Lightbourne announced that Nassau Village will receive a transfer station once the clean-up is completed. He stressed that the facility is not a dumpsite.

“A transfer station is a place where residents can bring bulk items such as old furniture and appliances,” he said. “Household garbage must not be brought here. That will continue to be collected through regular residential waste services.”

The station will be manned and serviced regularly, with bulk waste transported to the New Providence Ecology Park for proper disposal.

Mr Lightbourne said Nassau Village will become the seventh area on New Providence to receive a transfer station, noting that the locations are based on need rather than geography. He also warned that enforcement would be strengthened to address illegal dumping.

Mr Strachan welcomed the initiative, describing it as essential to dignity and public health.

“Regardless of where you live, you have a right to dignity and good health,” he said, adding that residents had endured years of unchecked dumping.

He said the transfer station would help discourage illegal disposal, particularly by small operators facing high transportation costs, while his broader focus for the constituency is shifting toward skills training, after-school programmes and continued community clean-ups.