With a serious intention to combat waste in the Freetown municipality, the Freetown City Council has installed street bins around the capital for the purpose of depositing waste.
This was disclosed on Radio Democracy FM 98 by Mayor Aki-Sawyer where she mentioned that there will be garbage collectors who will be collecting garbage from houses and take them to the transit points for onward transfer to the dumping sites.
The Mayor admonished residents to always deposit their litters in those dustbins and not on the streets. She frowned on residents who do not deposit litters in the street bins close to their residences but put them in shack bags and wait for garbage collectors, though for a small fee.
Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyer also admonished citizens to abide by the bye-laws of the FCC and ensure a clean environment for all. “A clean environment will yield a healthier society,” she stressed.
She further disclosed that moves are underway to get another dumping site in the Western Area Rural District (WARD), as in her opinion, the sites in the capital are few and an alternate site is therefore needed. The Mayor said the dumping site would also serve the WARD which lacks dumping facility.
On the control of waste disposal by market people, Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyer disclosed that market dues have increased from Le500 to Le1,000, adding that the move will create the enabling environment for special garbage collectors to collect all the garbage amassed during hours of trading and ensure a clean environment for trading every day.
While recognising the problem of sanitation in municipal schools in respect of toilet facilities and water supply, the Mayor said the Council is in consultation with the Guma Valley Water Company (GVWC) for the supply of water to those schools. She also spoke on subvention for fees which, she said, are being taken care of by the Government, noting that the money would be used to provide facilities like furniture for pupils.
