Garbage collection hit by truck trouble
(CNS): Delays in garbage collection around the George Town area over the last week are due to the “unavailability of some of the garbage collection trucks”, according to the Department of Environmental Health. Officials did not explain what caused this but said the department is going to embark on a “special operation to clear garbage” from all the areas that have not been serviced since the start of this week. Impacted communities include Safehaven to Industrial Park and South Sound Road to Prospect and Patrick’s Island.
Normal collections are scheduled to resume on Monday, 27 November, but residents who continue to miss the rubbish collection should call the office on 949-6696, email dehcustomerservice@gov.ky or visit the DEH website for updates.
Government invested more than a $2 million in 2015 on ten new garbage trucks for both commercial and residential collection.
Category: Environmental Health, Health
I was hit by truck trouble last week but still made it to work?
Can they also improve the service? I have gone through 6 garbage bins in 3 years. I find them thrown in the driveway and sometimes in the middle of the street. It doesn’t take much to place them properly after they are emptied rather than thrown on their side in my driveway.
Looks like my garbage was not picked up this morning and I live on smb.
Garbage piling up at the dump and now on streets but DEH is concerned with the pollution inside the 400ft dart tunnel.
LOL. I did not know there were specific days for trash pick up. Living in the Governors Harbour area, our trash is picked up on Monday some weeks, and Tuesday on some other weeks. If a holiday is involved, there is no telling when it will be picked up! The key is it IS picked up every week, so I am grateful for that.
It does amaze me that Cayman is so backward on the trash collection issue. A community where I formerly lived has had homeowner sorting of recyclables for at least the last 20 years, with automated trucks picking up huge trash containers for the last 15. These trucks are operated by one person, a fast, clean and reliable system.
Perhaps it is because people living in Cayman will not or cannot follow rules and procedures for living in society. I’m not sure but decades after being introduced, why are these trucks not used here? Why is there no sorting of recyclables? Why does CIG wasted the peoples money, time, and environmental resources year after year after year? The attached link shows how the automated collection works, but you must note how orderly and specifically the bins are put out each week. Could that work in Cayman?
https://youtu.be/yS_HvNbFwU8
As I recall, the DEH received new garbage trucks perhaps two or three years ago. Are they suggesting that the bulk of these new truck are now unusable? If that is the case, where is the accountability of the fleet manager who is responsible for vehicle upkeep and/or the accountability of the DEH Director himself?
I, for one, am tired of paying Government fees and taxes just for them to be wasted and no one held accountable!!
It is really time that collection of garbage be given to private sector companies. And collection of garbage be should be done twice weekly.I don’t ever hear of IWC and BHES equipment failing to collect the bins that they collect. Minister Bodden was seen in the papers handing over 10 trucks 3 and a half years ago to the DEH. The DEH drivers ruined these brand new trucks that have a life span of 15 years. They are far too incompetent to manage garbage collection.
All good points but they are already doing the best they can. Asking or even telling them to do better is a dead end. Expecting them to do better is stupid. Time for CIG to give up trying to do what private businesses do every day and let the professionals just do it and even make a little profit. If they had any class they would at least be embarrassed. It’s a shame they just can’t see any other way so they will just keep messing things up until the UK takes it all away. The sooner the better.
It’s not only George Town. 10 days between collecting in East End.
Place is a dump anyway.
Around 7 years ago when I first moved into the Prospect area, we had twice weekly trash collection (Tuesdays and Thursdays) that you could set a clock to. In recent years it went to a single collection per week (typically on Wednesday) that’s been highly irregular. Its pretty much anyways guess when collection may occur these days.
Everyone knows why just as everyone knows why it will never change. Hiring just because they are Caymanian and not skill or experience is a guarantee or failure. Again and again and again until its all over. Soon come is the only hope.
Not all the DEH staff are Caymanian. Where do you live?
Why not sell this to Dart too?
True, at least he pays his staff and his bills.
Remember there is not such thing as free trash pickup in private garbage disposal.
Perhaps some training as to how to drive those trucks and some monitoring would be good. When I hear and see how those trucks race in and out of our small road which is full of potholes, I’m not surprised that they don’t last very long. But hey – we all know that nobody in any government dept is ever held responsible and the public is expected to foot the bills.
Proper daily maintenance to these vehicles is needed as well as competent driving-
How about some scholarships for heavy equipment mechanics. Gotta think that a garbage truck should last 20 years if maintained.
Basic problem is that the garbage trucks receive zero maintenance. That is why we have this continual problem. A trade school which includes mechanical truck maintenance would be very helpful. But I guess CIG would like to buy new trucks every 3 or 4 years. Incredible how much money is around to burn.
Try every 6 months!
More like ignorant drivers, racing the engine / double clutching going nowhere .
I worked for a private sanitation company in the New York/ New Jersey area while on school breaks and that company serviced three towns plus all types of commercial accounts throughout the NY Metropolitan area, plus had a transfer station that other companies as well as towns brought in there garbage to be separated and sent to the landfill. It should also be noted that the homeowners had to separate their trash into various supplied bins for recycling and if you failed to do so the garbage was left and the town/city issued a citation which was enforced. They had a crew of 3 mechanics and had both old & new trucks but they all worked and there was none of this bullshi% like here with failure to keep on schedule. They tried to come and do business here but some of the former politicians wanted to much, so they walked. They do now have an operation in St Martin. It is time to get this into the private sector who are well qualified and have everyone do the separation of recyclable items, because why are we so dam behind when every other place does it? There is to much buddy buddy crap and not enough just get on to the job and do it.
Got news for anyone who does not like my comments that it is tough shi%
These trucks will not last 20 years. I’ve been in the private sector of waste management back in the states for 18 years. Properly maintained and you should get ten years out of them. That’s also private sector where it benefits me to maintain my trucks. If you continue to let government run these programs this is what you will have to deal with. The average 20 yard rear load truck in the states will run $150k dollars. Private companies need profits to keep a reliable business going for the public. That means No more free trash collection but it would be reliable.
Please don’t forget the bin by the Field of Dreams….it’s been overflowing for almost two weeks now.
Lets get real. The delays in collection were all over the island, not just GT. I live in BT and the garbage was left uncollected for almost 2 weeks.
The Supervisors and Management at DEH need to go, they needed to go from a long time ago actually. They keep allowing the drivers to break up the engines and gears in the trucks without any consequences.
Also, there is other critical equip on the landfill that has been out of operation for months.
Why are these jokers allowed to stay in office?
Only 4 trucks operational for the entire island, so I heard. And these trucks are running like 24/7s around the clock. It is unavoidable they will break down.
I think its time we privatize the entire environmental health services, have competing local agencies collecting and processing dump, and there will be more jobs for Caymanians too. The DEH is too busy getting a fat check every month. So they will not have that drive to improve their public services.
DOEH please get out of the commercial garbage collection business and focus all resources on the household collection. This should allow for a spare truck or two for preventative maintenance scheduling.
Multi-unit (>3) residential should be considered commercial. Let the private sector completely take over the commercial skip rental & collection.
North Side was late also! Normally collection for NS is Friday but didn’t happen until Monday. Didn’t DEH just receive several new trucks a few months ago?
Tell your representative to pick it up himself.
That’s a crock of SH????? DVS who fixes them says they no nothing about this XXX. They got over 10 new trucks recently why they lying like that. How all of a sudden did the trucks all gone down one time. Its a scam and CNS needs to look into it. My garbage has been collected in over two weeks ad its getting quite nasty along my road.
Ah, the 6 P’s. Pi$$ poor planning prevents proper performance
That department certainly needs A new boss.
Garbage collection is very hard work. Imagine these guys at every stop lifting bins around 50 pounds, and they have to do it with speed in the wee hours of the morning. I hope they get paid good and have health care discounts.
They do
Another government department with no comprehensive programme for maintaining their equipment, and presumably no external inspection team to monitor what they are doing.
Is this related to the late garbage pick up in North Side last week?
As usual, they are waiting for the parts from Germany or elsewhere far away.
They keep buying new trucks and yet this problem continues. Make the drivers responsible for the care and service of these vehicles. From my investigations these trucks don’t come cheap. As a matter of fact all government vehicles are poorly maintained from the looks of them driving on the road. Take care of the “people’s property” meaning we all pay for them including you the drivers .
12:34pm How many of them are drivers? Have they driven or held an heavy equipment license? Only responsible people should be chosen as drivers.
what is the deal with recycling areas at the super markets? they always seem to be over flowing….
the usual civil service incompetence…..
The word civil “service” is a misnomer. I have ask for two overflowing trash cans on Mary Mollie Hyde Rd. to be emptied for two weeks. Trash still over flowing, Stinks too, like the no civil service.
civil serpents….. who would not last 5 mins in the private sector…
anyway..just another day in wonderland…