Illegal dumping stopped

By JUNIOR UKAHA
AN attempt by Lae Builders and Contractors (LBC) to bury three containers filled with fibro in Lae was stopped by authorities yesterday.
Lae city council officers led byGodfrey Worio, the health services manager, went to the Poasang Dump and ordered LBC to stop dumping the fibro there because it was “illegal.”
LBC workers had taken three shipping containers loaded with fibro wastes collected from the Angau Memorial Hospital nurses’ accommodation to the dump and dug a hole to bury them.
When local residents saw what LBC was doing, they protested and demanded an explanation from them.
The nurses’ accommodation has recently undergone renovation funded by the Australian government.
The residents yesterday alerted the city council who went to Poasang Dump and ordered LBC to stop what they were doing.
Worio said what the company was doing was illegal because that place was not a designated rubbish dump.
He said despite using a correct method to dispose of the waste, LBC did not seek approval from his office to dump the waste there.
“The only authorised dump in Lae is the Second Seven Dump,” Worio said.
“This Poasang Dump is next to a river bank and residential areas so it can affect the people.”
LBC general manager Toma Djirtov said he had followed proper processes to dump the waste there and had the relevant documents to support his actions. He said they had paid K3000 to the city council to dump the waste there but the council had increased the fees.
Djirtov said he sent his driver to dump the rubbish at Second Seven Dump but his driver was attacked by some thugs.
He said LBC had approached the landowners who agreed for them to dump the rubbish at Poasang Dump.
“We have a letter from the local level government that allowed us to dump the rubbish here,” Djirtov said.
“The demolition (of Angau nurses quarters) is under the Australian government and follows their health and safety procedures when disposing rubbish.
“The containers are below the ground, the fibro are sealed with plastics then a six inch concrete cement will go on top.
“That’s Australian and New Zealand standard and not the PNG standard.”
Djirtov said when they came to dump the wastes at Poasang Dump, a priest had spread misleading information to the residents of the area that LBC was conducting a mass burial for unclaimed bodies at the hospital morgue.
He said that raised the alarm among the members of the community who confronted his men.
“LBC has 50 years of building experience in the country so we will not do anything to compromise the safety and health of the people living here,” Djirtov said.
Worio has asked Djirtov to meet with him at his office to discuss how they could resolve this situation.