outside Hamilton.

Mr. Dan Hoornweg, solid waste manager in the Ministry of Works and Engineering, said all businesses outside the city had to start hauling their own waste or hiring private contractors, as of January 1.

The result has been a major cost increase for small businesses during a recession, according to some of those affected by the change.

Mrs. Sheryl Martin, manager of Somerset Pharmacy, said she had been quoted between $240 and $300 a month for weekly private collection, compared to the $50 every three months she paid Government.

"It's the small businesses that are going to hurt,'' Mrs. Martin said yesterday. "The larger companies have their own trucks.'' Mr. Hoornweg said a large number of businesses already relied on private waste haulers, and only about 80 firms were affected by the change.

The major reason was to allow the ministry more time to concentrate on residential waste collection, he said. It also seemed unfair for Government to collect waste from some businesses, but not others.

Further, it was felt that businesses which were responsible for their own waste disposal would produce less trash, and thus prolong the life of the Pembroke Dump, Mr. Hoornweg said.

There was also a small cost saving for Government. "We were billing for the service, but we weren't billing for the total cost,'' he said. Therefore, businesses which received Government collection were being subsidised.

The change was outlined in Bermuda's Comprehensive Waste Management Plan released last February, and all affected businesses were notified by a letter mailed in September, he said.

Mr. Louis Ooi, manager of Crow Lane Bakery Ltd., said the change was "extremely inconvenient for a lot of businesses,'' which he said would face charges of $200 to $300 a month for weekly private trash pick-ups.

The change could lead to increased dumping of trash along roadsides as some businesses tried to escape the cost of disposal, he added.

Mr. Ooi said he was also concerned about a private truck stopping to pick up his trash just past the main roundabout on the new highway leading into Hamilton. Motorists would not heed a private truck stopping there in the same way they would a Government truck, he said.

Mr. Keith Hollis, manager of Esso Bermuda Ltd. in St. George's, said: "We were certainly impacted by the change.

"We had been accustomed for many years to the Government truck coming once or twice a week. We have an outside contractor performing that service for us now.'' The cost is higher, but the company had adjusted to the change, he said.

However, some businesses which did not receive Government waste pick-up previously are pleased by the change.

Mr. Frank Arnold, manager of Arnold's Supermarket in Somerset, said many smaller stores had received Government-subsidised garbage collection for years.

"I have to pay for my own, and why shouldn't they?'' he asked. Mr. Hoornweg said he only heard from about six businesses who were unhappy about the change, and "they all, generally, once we explained the reasons, have agreed'' with it.

He could not estimate the average weekly amount Works and Engineering charged for its garbage collection, saying it depended on how many trash containers were used.

Businesses inside the boundaries of Hamilton still have their trash collected by the Corporation.