Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination

Caribbean Studies

Topic : Improper solid waste disposal and management

Name of Center: Saint Stanislaus College

Center Code: 090047

Name of Candidate: Carlos John Gonsalves

Registration Number: 0900470267

Territory: Guyana

Year of exam: 2017

Teacher: Mrs. La Fleur

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..1

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM..2

INTRODUCTION3

LITERATURE REVIEW5

DATA COLLECTION SOURCES8

PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS.....10

INTERPRETATION OF DATA..17

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS..19

CONCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS..21

RECOMMENDATIONS...22

BIBLIOGRAPHY...23
 Acknowledgements
The researcher would like to express heartfelt gratitude to the ones that rendered assistance during
the completion of this Internal assessment, namely, God, his family and his Caribbean Studies
teacher, miss Roxanne La Fleur

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 Statement of Problem
An investigation into the prevalent forms of improper solid waste disposal that necessitated the
cleanup campaign of 2016 around the Georgetown district and an assessment of the overall
effectiveness of the campaign.

Objectives
- To investigate the improper waste disposal practices employed by the everyday citizens of
Georgetown.
- To discuss the impact said practices had on central Georgetown and its immediate
environment prior to the campaign.
- To assess the effectiveness of the cleanup campaign in combatting the problem.

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 Introduction
Georgetown, in addition to being the capital city of Guyana, is also the countrys most
economically dominant location, hence a large portion of Guyanese reside within the borders of
Georgetown (approximately 240,000 persons residing within 150 square km) Georgetown was
once dubbed the garden city of the Caribbean but has since become undeserving of this title. A
rapid, exponential population growth allowed for increased importation, production and usage of
tangible goods and modern Guyanese society has become negligent in the proper disposal and
management of the resultant volume of solid waste. Therefore waste disposal and management is
a vital issue to Guyanese society; one that was recognized by the recently elected government
whom implemented a cleanup campaign to clean Georgetown.

Thus in seeking to study this local phenomenon and the Governments response, this research is
entitled an investigation into the prevalent forms of improper solid waste disposal that
necessitated the cleanup campaign of 2016 around the Georgetown district and an assessment of
the effectiveness of the campaign. The paper will discuss the prevalence, forms and the resultant
environmental impacts of waste disposal practices in Georgetown as well as the respondents
opinions of the effectiveness of the clean-up campaign in dealing with the issue of improper waste
disposal.

This study has a plethora of educational justifications and values. The information presented within
would add to the local, pre-existing body of knowledge of solid waste disposal and management.
This research would also prove fruitful to students across multiple disciplines, including C.A.P.E
Geography, Environmental Science, Tourism, Caribbean studies and Green Engineering as
improper waste disposal is also a concern in the aforementioned areas. Lastly, the current
administration can utilize this study to determine how well their initiative was received so as to
decide on the implementation of similar, future programs.

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Following are the definitions of various key terms that are vital in order to fully understand and
appreciate the essence of this research.

Solid waste - Solid wastes are any discarded or abandoned materials. Solid wastes can be solid,
liquid, and semi-solid or containerized gaseous material.

Solid waste disposal the methods by which Georgetowns residents get rid of waste materials
such as domestic, biological and commercial waste and sewage.

Central Georgetown District the geographical area of Georgetown that comprises of Robstown,
Bourda and Albertown. The area is bounded by the Demerara River, Durban Street, Vlissengen
Road and Lamaha.

Impacts- the various harmful alterations imposed on defined source, whether long or short term
that was consequent of a defined occurrence.

I.S.W.D.M- Improper solid waste disposal and management, hereon used interchangeably with
I.S.W.D.M.

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 Literature Review
It should be noted that the issue of improper solid waste disposal and management is hardly an
isolated incident. The epidemic spread across vast geographical boundaries and encapsulates all
of mankind. The variations in industrialization, legislation, population size and consumption all
contribute to the prevalence and severity of I.S.W.D.M in various locales. As such numerous
researchers have tackled various aspects of I.S.W.D.M including its environmental implications
and resolutions by both government and private institutions.

Ejaz, Akhtar, Nisar and Naeem, from the University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila,
Pakistan, in their research paper entitled Environmental impacts of improper solid waste
management in developing countries: a case study of Rawalpindi City sought to analyze the solid
waste management system that existed within Rawalpindi, Pakistan which they described as due
to lack of proper planning and funding, the solid waste management scenario is becoming worse
day by day. In addition, they blame rapid industrialization, urbanization and insufficient funding
for this. It was stated that a combination of rapid population growth, rapid solid waste generation
rates, management deficiencies, lack of legislative implementation and funding has rendered the
preexisting solid waste management systems severely ineffective. The researchers held that the
serve state of the affairs of solid waste management in Rawalpindi would have severe environment
implications.

The researchers identified several environmental and health hazards that resulted from the poor
disposal and management of solid waste including, stagnation of waterways which results in the
breeding of flies and mosquitos and flooding, food waste in dumps breeding rats which spread
diseases and damage cables, pungent odor from dumps, air pollution caused by burning of the
waste, groundwater contamination from percolation of rainwater that flows through the solid
waste, harmful substances to animals especially cattle ( any grazing animal) etc. This was achieved
through the researchers usage of interviews of sanitary officers, residents in polluted areas, and
observations of contaminated areas. I plan to utilize interviews through the use of a closed ended
questionnaire in addition to observation for my study to investigate the ISWD situation in
Georgetown. .

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Similarly [Anaman K., Nyadzi W.: Analysis of improper disposal of solid waste in a low income
area of Accra, Ghana (December 25, 2014)] projected that the health status and productivity level
of a people are greatly influenced by their environmental sanitation conditions in which they live.
More over the opined the premise that maintaining good sanitary conditions in urban areas is
essential for good health, quality of life and to foster economic development through tourism. It
was noted that solid waste disposal contributes to 35% of all health related issues within the sub-
Saharan region and that improper solid waste disposal was a common practice within many
African countries, Ghana being no exception. It was also suggested that weak enforcement of
sanitation laws as well as pressure on disposal companies can lead to reckless or improper disposal.
Lastly the study contended that the low income class predominantly resorted to dumping in open
fields, drains, burying or burning of their solid waste, all of which has severe implications on the
environment, and that the failure to properly dispose of solid waste results from the governments
insistence to charge a fee for the use of public dump sites as well as the high cost of private
collection companies.

Anaman and Nyadzi sought to determine if the major factors responsible for the improper disposal
of solid waste perceived by the low income class of Accra were inherently similar to the ones
proposed by the researchers. This was achieved through the usage of a cluster sampling method
spanning a period of six months. This method involves sectionalizing a geographic area then
selecting an appropriate sample. As such one hundred and twenty persons were interviewed face
to face, which was kept confidential. The findings positively reflected the premise as respondents
indeed blamed the high fee of proper waste collection as well as the weak enforcement of sanitation
laws, however a significant contributor was the attitude and lack of knowledge of the households
as it relates to improper waste disposal. Some suggested methods to tackle the issue were education
of the residents as it relates to sanitation laws and consequences, more usage of disposal units and
on a governmental level stricter laws, a reduction of the fee and introduction of more disposal
units. Despite my study not being limited to a residential area, it would enlist a similar
methodology and would be premised on similar facts of the improper solid waste disposal
situation. Similarly it would determine the role of the government in the situation in addition to
determining the impact of ISWD on Georgetown.

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In relation to the assessment of the effectiveness of the cleanup campaign, this study seeks to
corroborate the claims published on the 29th November 2015 by the Guyana Chronicle entitled
More open spaces now in Georgetown that the cleanup campaign has ( up to the time of the
publishing of the article) been a successful endeavor as not only has it brought the city closer to
its former glory of being the garden city but it also initiated the demolition of several eyesores,
and caused multiple groups of volunteers to clean up their respective communities, clearing their
drains and parapets of silt, garbage and plastics. This study seeks to determine if this is indeed the
case or if the cleanup campaign has truly had little to no effect on the environs.

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 Data Collection sources
Figure 1: Satellite imagery map of Georgetown defining the study area

The study contain within this paper seeks to determine the forms and prevalence of improper solid
waste disposal present within Central Georgetown as seen by its inhabitants. In addition it
discusses at length the perceived environmental impacts of such pollutants and examines the
publics opinion on the cleanup campaigns effective in combatting the situation. These findings
fuel various recommendations and conclusions related to the successfulness of the campaign and
the solid waste disposal situation in Guyana.

The data was obtained primarily through the usage of a survey, but observation was also employed
to assess the third objective. A survey which was appropriate for the study as the quantitative data
collected would be invaluable in evaluating the general consensus as it regards to prevalence,
severity and success. This design was appropriate for the study as the nature of the study mandates
that a heavy focus be placed on primary data sources.

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The instrument employed was a questionnaire consisting of 10 open and closed ended questions
which include, yes or no, check boxes as well as multiple choice. This was useful as it keeps the
time consumption to a minimal and it provides the questions as easier to understand. A total of 50
questionnaires were distributed between the hours of 3 -4 on Thursday and Friday, the 24th and
25th of November 2016, in the vicinity of sample area to fifty randomly selected individuals.
Questions 3,4,5,6 and 8 encompass the first objective while questions 7, 9 and 10 deal with the
second objective.

Secondary sources of data were utilized to a lesser extent as a gauge to corroborate the results of
this study, hence other environmental assessments and reports were utilized.

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 Presentation of Findings
The data collected was presented via several mediums such as graphs, charts and tables, these are
as follows:

Figure 2: Responses to the question Do you live in Georgetown or frequent it more than five
times per week?

Frequent
Options

Reside

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Number of respondents

Source: Questionnaire

Figure two shows that of fifty respondents, sixty percent (30 people) lived within Georgetown
while forty percent (20 people) were no stranger to the city, frequenting it five or more times a
week.

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 Figure 3: Responses to How long have you been residing in or frequenting Georgetown?

20%

40%

0%
40%

1-4 years 5-9 years 10 -14 years 15 plus years

Source: Questionnaire

The varying periods of time the respondents have been living in Georgetown or frequenting it are
depicted in figure three. All respondents have been either living in or traversing Georgetown for
over a year while a total of eighty percent have been doing this for at least five years.

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 Figure 4: Responses and justifications for improper disposal of waste

25
22
Number of respondents

20

15 14
12

10

5
2

0
Reasons for littering or dumping garbage
Dump already existed
no bin within comfortable distance
No punishment or stigma for littering
Failure for garbage trucks to arrive on time.

Source: Questionnaire

Figure four shows that all respondents admitted to either littering or disposing of their waste in an
improper way. The most popular selection was that a public dump already existed where they
were disposing their waste which accounted for 44% of responses.

Figure 5: do garbage trucks or any other sanitary personnel clean garbage from the environment
beside garbage bins?

Response Dumps Waterways frequency Amount of

respondents
Yes - - - 0
No Never 50
Source: Questionnaire

Figure 5 depicts the indifference of the sanitary agencies /and lack thereof in relation to deal with
the already contaminated environment.

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Figure 6: Table depicting responses for is there a garbage collection service running within
Georgetown? If yes how often do they collect waste?

Response Frequency Amount

No - 0
Yes Once per week 50
Source: Questionnaire

Figure 6 is a table thats shows waste disposal services available to respondents. All respondents
reported that such services operate on a weekly rotation only.

Figure 7: column chart depicting responses to how much waste does your household generate?

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20
Number of Respondents

15

10
5 5
5

0
LESS THAN ONE DRUM TWO DRUMS
ONE DRUM OR MORE
PER WEEK
Options

Source: Questionnaire

The column chart (figure 7) depicted the estimated waste production rates of residence of
Georgetown alone, hence a total of thirty responses were recorded. Of this, 67 % estimated one
drum while 16.6% estimated less than one drum and a further 16.6% estimated two drums or
higher.

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 Figure 8: responses to the main types of pollution in the study area.

80
72
70

60
AMOUNT OF SELECTIONS

50
42
40 36

30 27

18
20

10 5

0
Plastics Packaging Organic styrafoam Industrial Sewage
Waste Waste
TYPE OF WASTE

Source: Questionnaire

Figure 8 shows the 200 selections made by the 50 respondents. Each respondent was asked to
select four types of solid waste they perceived to be most prevalent in Georgetown. Of this, the
two dominant categories were plastics (36 %) and packaging (21%) which accounted for a total of
57% of responses. Organic waste, Styrofoam, industrial waste and sewage cumulated to the
remaining 43% with 18%, 13.5%, 2.5% and 9% respectively.

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 Figure 9: responses to consequences of ISWMD in study area.

Possible contamination Breeding ground for rats,

of groundwater/ flies, mosquitos, reptiles
12% Pungent odor
increased polluted runoff
12%
4%

Encourages residents
to discard items in pre Unsightly/ bad for
existing dump tourism
12% 16%

Increasingly costly
to maintain
11%

Flooding/ clogging
Hazardous to
of water ways
aquatic species
24%
5%
Hazardous to grazing/ stray animals
4%
`

Source: Questionnaire

Figure 9 shows the perceived consequences of the waste situation of Georgetown, be it

environmental, economic, and social or health related. The two dominant selections which
accounted for forty percent of responses were flooding/ clogging of waterways and unsightly/ bad
for tourism.

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Figure 10: Opinion on if the cleanup campaign was a step toward sustainability or a dire step to
gain favors of the Georgetown population.

60

50

11
40

30

20 39

10

First step Dire Attempt

Source: Questionnaire

In relation to how the clean-up campaign was perceived, majority of respondents (78%) saw it as
a step towards a sustainable environment, while 22% though that it was politically motivated or
had some agenda.

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 Interpretation of Data
Upon analysis several trends and linkages were observed.

All of the respondents lived within the study area or very regularly conducted business in it, and
has been practicing this since at least 2011, given that the cleanup initiative started in 2015, this
renders the sample more than capable of giving valid testimonials and accurate judgement of the
various forms of improper solid waste that was abundant throughout the city for at least five years
prior to the start of the cleanup campaign. They would also be able to determine its effectiveness.

In investigating the forms of waste disposal within the study area and the systems in place to
manage improper disposal, the data shows two things in this regard, firstly, there is a waste
collection agency in place within the study area, it was often inadequate, as it operated only once
weekly. This is magnified when taking into consideration how much waste is produced in the study
area; the sample area represent 15 percent of the total Georgetown area, since there are 52,780
households in Georgetown , the average number of households in the study area would stand at
7,917 households. The data from figure 7 further reveals that the average amount of waste
produced by an average household in the study area is 160 lbs. per week. This translates to a burden
of collecting 575 .8 tons of waste per week or an average of 30,000 tons of solid waste per year
for the central Georgetown district. Logic dictates that a fraction of this becomes strewn across the
environment. However figure 5 made it clear that sanitary services of waste in the environment
eg, dumps, drains, was virtually nonexistent. Furthering this trend, all respondents admitted to
improper disposal of waste and 44% justified this by saying that another piece of waste to a pile
was inconsequential. While other justifications included a lack of bins (24%), failure to enforce
sanitary laws and penalties (4%) and the failure of garbage trucks to arrive on time (28%) which
shed light on the various practices of improper waste disposal employed within the area.

In relation to what constitutes to solid waste and the effects of said solid wastearound the CGD
(Central Georgetown District) evidence shows that plastic wares, packaging, organic waste and
Styrofoam products are the main perpetrators as they account for a total of 88.5% of Solid waste
in the study area as shown in figure 8 or 36%, 21%, 18% and 13.5%, respectively. In addition,
70.5% of solid waste in the CGD is non biodegradable and can accumulate in great volumes,
especially in waterways, which was heavily evident around the study area prior to the cleanup

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campaign. The study area is a high traffic, generally commercial and business area, which implies
that a large volume of people traverse the area and potentially litter, which in turn accounts for the
high levels of packaging, plastics, organic matter and Styrofoam. When this is coupled with the
aforementioned infrequency of garbage collection and the widespread of acceptance and practice
of improper solid waste disposal amongst citizens, the resultant effects on the environment of the
CGD is profound. Given what predominantly comprises the solid waste of the CGD it is hardly a
surprise that flooding/clogging of waterways/ stagnation of water and a negative effect on tourism
are the most prevalent consequences, according to the respondents. The sheer volume of waste in
drains and trenches clog openings, restricts free water flow and effectively causes flooding. This
is a detriment to tourist visits and impressions on the city. Terrestrial based solid waste dumps
provide a breeding ground for various undesirable creatures while emitting a truly distasteful odor;
these also prove dangerous to stray animals and flora, as certain harmful chemicals can be leeched
into the soils or can be digested when a stray animal accidentally devours trash (animal can also
choke to death) however these consequences are minor in regards to the study area as it is heavily
urbanized. Organic waste or biodegradable solid waste also proves detrimental in various ways,
when in water bodies these can mix with the water and endanger the aquatic life of the trenches.
Overall, the prevalence of solid waste only encouraged others in the area to follow stead, which
translates to an ever increasing greater cost required to rejuvenate and sanitize the area.

While the task of cleaning the city seemed momentous, the APNU government undertook the
challenge and commenced works, with a main area being the CGD. With this in mind, majority of
public opinion both endorsed and praised this move, with 78% of respondents seeing it as a right
step towards a sustainable Solid waste situation. This was undeniable as through observation the
project did indeed appear to have huge successes. While 22% of respondents felt that some ulterior
motive was at play, they did see the campaign as successful at face value.

A contradiction would be that despite sanitary services being present, they do not clean all forms
of solid waste and they often operate in a limited capacity.

In summary, there is widespread improper disposal of solid waste in various forms, and while
systems are in place to deal with it they were ineffective and scarce, there have been several
physical, environmental and economic effects of the dire solid waste situation , which has since
been remedied to an extent by the government funded cleanup campaign.

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 Discussion of Findings
The case study presented fully corroborates that research done by researchers in their research
paper entitled Environmental impacts of improper solid waste management in developing
countries: a case study of Rawalpindi City as the solid waste situation in the study area was
indeed due to lack of proper planning and funding In addition, just as identified in their study,
various factors such as a rapid waste generation rate, insufficient funding, management
deficiencies, and proper legislation on ISWD in Guyana rendered the situation severe and the
current system as ineffective. Environmental consequences of the waste situation in the study area
were essentially identical to those identified in the Rawalpindi case study. The data was also
obtained through common methods, namely surveys of persons in affected areas and observation.

This study also drew parallels with the Analysis of improper disposal of solid waste in a low income
area of Accra, Ghana as a correlation could clearly be seen with health conditions and sanitary
conditions of the CGD as well as poor sanitary situation of the CGD being linked to weak
legislation, persons ignorant of various consequences of their daily litter and immense pressure on
an under equipped disposal company to regularly operate area with a massive volume of solid
waste. The premise of the reviewed literature could also be mirrored as the study area of
Georgetown encompassed majority middle and lower class occupants who were indeed
significantly contributing to the solid waste problem in the CGD. However one difference of this
study and the literature would be the factors responsible for the improper disposal, as in
Georgetown public dumps are nonexistent and few private collection companies exist. However
both case studies assessed the role of respective governments in the situation.

Lastly, my study finds some Corroborations with the Guyana Chronicles report on the
effectiveness of the cleanup campaign. my study not only determined that the predominant source
of the solid waste generation of central Georgetown is linked with its economic and business
structure, such that manufacturing, retail of goods etc which are clearly reflected in the solid waste
situation eg garbage, Styrofoam, organic waste etc, it also drew parallels that the central city areas
are benefitting from a massive reduction in the level of solid waste on them, in addition, it is
noteworthy that many dumps that were once scattered throughout the city are now a fragment of
the past. In addition, several drains and waterways that have been previously contaminated to

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varying degrees have since been cleared of all contaminants. Over grown and bushy areas have
since been cleared and maintained and the waste management system has become more regular,
hence it is determinable that the project was very effective in tackling the situation.

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 Conclusions and limitations
In conclusion, the aims of this study were to investigate the different ways that solid waste was
improperly disposed of, what forms such waste took, how these practices impacted the study area
and its physical, economic and social environment and how effective the governments solution to
the problem was. A questionnaire was distributed to 50 persons in the study area to gather data
and observation of the physical environment was also used. The results painted a bleak picture of
the solid waste situation in central Georgetown as it showed that various factors including, weak
laws, rapid waste generation rates and an ineffective waste disposal system allowed for widespread
pollution of the environment with predominantly economic waste products such as plastics,
packages of products, organic matter such as decaying food, produce etc and Styrofoam products
that wreaked havoc on the irrigation of the study area and subsequently was detrimental to the
tourism of the city in addition to various environmental effects. However the cleanup campaign
greatly sanitized various affected areas and was overall viewed as a success. Such information is
vital to the administration to plan further strategies.

This study mirrors the results of various aforementioned studies done on the same subject matter
across various borders. The environmental effects are uniform and the causes that render the issue
of improper solid waste disposal and management are generally similar. However it is obvious
each research would vary in its specific aims.

This study is not without its drawbacks however, firstly the sample size is merely a fraction of the
population of the capital city, and as such all figures are estimates using laws of proportionality,
the study also assumes that the views of those selected respondents would reflect the view of the
entire population. In addition the study area is the most polluted, busiest area of the city, which
means that the data would be inconsistent if a greater area was studied. The various effects were
not discussed in elaborate detail or were not supported by specifically calculated statistics as both
resources and time was limited.

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 Recommendations
Based of this study several recommendations are in order.

Firstly, the government should seek to executed the cleanup campaign on a more grand level, given
its success, it should be modified to expand across time and space ,meaning it would be beneficial
to make it a yearly phenomenon all across Guyana in order to keep our country clean.

Secondly more sanitary services should be employed to regularly deal with the large volume of
waste produce by citizens as the current ones are insufficient. The solid waste infrastructure and
machinery should also be improved to render it easier to collect waste.

Thirdly, services for the cleaning of drains, parpets, and lawns from solid waste should be
employed as current sanitary services usually ignore waste not in a bin or not in their direct
occupational title.

Fourthly, current legislation on pollution, the environment and littering needs to be severely
strengthened and punishments as well as incentives can be implemented to curb the solid waste
issue ; the carrot or the stick approach.

Lastly, treatment and recycle plants should be introduced to render the situation controllable.

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 Bibliography

Mohammed, J. (2007). Caribbean Studies for CAPE Examinations, An Interdisciplinary

Approach. Trinidad and Tobago: Macmillan.
Reid, R. B. (2007). CAPE Caribbean Studies Modules I III. Trinidad: Caribbean
Educational Publishers.
http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2015/10/26/opposition-objects-to-countrywide-
cleanup-campaign/ Accessed February 26th 2017

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