7 News Belize

PG Gets A New Garbage Truck from Japan
posted (September 26, 2019)

The Japanese government delivered big time for the Punta Gorda town council with a $400,000 Belize dollar grant. As we reported last night, the Orange Walk town council received a garbage truck from the Japanese government through their Grass-Roots Human Security Project. Well, today the PG Mayor and the Ambassador of Japan to Belize met at the Bull Frog Inn in Belmopan to sign a grant for a similar contribution. Here is more from the ceremony

Ashton McKenzie - Mayor, Punta Gorda Town
"Today is certainly a most momentous and memorable occasion in the history of Punta Gorda Town, as well as for the country of Japan, it is definitely something big. On our part, it has always been a dream to ensure that we acquired the necessary assets, so that we can discharge the mandate given to us. In the past we've been recipients of compactor trucks, however we have never had the opportunity to basically acquire new machinery in entirety. So, it's definately a very big gesture, this I think marks the single largest contribution ever made to the Punta Gorda Town Council, outside of contributions made by the government of Belize. So it's definitely a historic milestone in the history of Punta Gorda Town and of course the history of the Punta Gorda Town Council. So it's definitely something big for us and it puts us one step closer to making Punta Gorda shine. We definately want to make it a green municipality and in order for us to do so, having the necessary equipment is most essential. We basically drafted a proposal for the acquisition of added machinery for the sanitation and Department of Environment at the Punta Gorda Town Council."

"That proposal basically, highlighted the various issues. It gave the background basically, of issues stemming from solid waste management in Punta Gorda and how we are looking to rectify it, and of course how added resources can help us to not only discharge our mandate, but tie in with the other plans. Traditionally, we would rent a truck or our good business partners or our friends, would basically assist us with a truck, we put the fuel and we do zone clean up campaigns. This project, if you notice it has basically, two sides to it. With the additional compactor, we'll be able to pick up garbage more frequently in our town. Presently, it takes us approximately 4 days to clean the entire town of Punta Gorda, but everybody's garbage is collected once a week. With this additional compactor, we'll be able to increase our frequency of our garbage collection and with the dump truck; we'll be able to utilize that to deal with non-household refuge, when people cut down large trees, old vehicles, old scrap metals, to ensure that they don't become eye sores or mosquito breeding areas within our community."

H.E. Hiroyuki Kubato - Japanese Ambassador
"We recognize that, the seriousness of the waste management in the Punta Gorda township. At the same time, we also learned, this a part of a large picture of the waste management, that is not only Punta Gorda Town but the whole coastal area in the whole nation and the whole region. It is really a global issue."

The trucks have been ordered but are not in country as yet. They expect to be in country in about 2 to 3 months. Now PG Mayor Ashton McKenzie got an extra treat from the Japanese government. He was awarded a scholarship from the Japan International Cooperation Agency to study sustainable waste management. He told the media more about his experience.

Ashton McKenzie
"I had the opportunity to study. I was awarded a scholarship by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, JICA, to study sustainable solid waste management in Japan. That visit was definitely an eye opener for me, it is the first time that I actually travelled to that side of the world and they're definitely way ahead. During the course of that visit, the persons that engage in that course were specifically policy makers. In my class, the other participants that were a part of the course included, permanent secretaries, CEOs, directors for different solid waste management and it was an eye opening experience. We focused on several different things relating to solid waste management, we looked at different policies, how you go about drafting policies, laws. We looked at how to conduct waste composition studies, time and motion studies. We looked at other things that can be done to boost, or compliment proper solid waste management."

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