Back to school mess, trash collector says schools must now pay

While the government bookstore was hit by thieves the management of public schools received notice of a proposed new fee for garbage collection. The Belize Waste Control wrote to the schools a few days ago, informing them that the once free collection of garbage will be discontinued when the school year begins next week. This afternoon, school managers, the City Council and the garbage collection company met to negotiate the proposed fees. News Five Marion Ali has this report.

Marion Ali, Reporting

It’s an ongoing problem that no one wants to deal with and today even those who are in the business of keeping Belize City clean are washing their hands from the dirty job, at least where the schools are concerned.  The Belize Waste Control sent off this letter to schools in Belize City, informing that as of August thirtieth, that is next Monday, they will need to come up with the funds to dispose of the garbage they produce.  The job has been done free of cost by Waste Control for the past nineteen years, but it is an endeavor that has become so costly, according to Waste Control’s General Manager, George Lamb, it has begun to cut significantly into the company’s profits.  Lamb told News Five off camera this afternoon that based on the economics, if a private company pays for the same job, it would cost roughly a hundred and seventy-six dollars per week.  But because of the schools’ economic constraints, Lamb says he will sit with them this week and negotiate what they can best afford.

Meanwhile, News Five also spoke with the Head of the Association of Primary Schools, Loreen Ciego, who said she only became aware of the schools’ plight a day ago and she herself will call for a meeting with the relevant bodies to see how best they can deal with the problem.  She did emphasize that the letter, a copy of which she received on Monday, only gives the schools one week to prepare for this costly exercise, something she says the schools absolutely cannot afford.  The two groups are expected to come up with some amicable solution to the problem sometime this week.  If that is not done then one can only presume that the new expense will be indirectly passed on to the citizens, either through the Ministry of Education’s budget or as a new fee appearing on students’ registration forms at the start of the next school year.  Marion Ali for News Five.