Garbage Collections Fees May be Coming for Belize City

Bernard Wagner

The mayor is advising residents that City Hall can’t continue to foot the expense of garbage collection without the residents contributing to that bill.

Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor

“At some point in time in the very near future the discussion of garbage fee, residential garbage fee will have to be put at the forefront because we have reached the breaking point where the city can no longer be able to sustain paying for the collection of garbage for residents. The residents at some point in the near future will have to begin to foot that bill. All the other municipalities in the country I believe, collect residential garbage fee. All municipalities all across the region and across the world, everywhere residents have to pay for garbage.  Only in Belize City no resident pays for garbage. And that will come to a head, Marion. It has to come to a head.”

Marion Ali

“That’s interesting. I believe the past Mayor had pitched that same idea of having the city residents pay towards garbage collection and that idea was soundly rejected. I think his approach was that there would have been a small fee attached to residents’ water bills. It wasn’t welcomed at all by city residents. How do you propose to present that one to residents?”

Bernard Wagner

“I believe like what you said, that Mayor Bradley had presented that idea before.  I believe it was not a case of being rejected by the residents. It’s just, I believe, a situation of political will to get it done. The fact of the matter is that the city can no longer sustain the cost of garbage collection.”