“That sight is really not good because it is causing pollution to the learning environment. If Masada really wants to do a good job, they must try to empty the bins on a daily basis. But as it is now the situation, in which it is, is not appropriate,” she complained.

She added: “This is a major street leading to the central of town and it must not be littered in the manner in which it is. The business people were once asked not to trade along the fence, but now they are back and that is one thing that is very much bad for the pupils.”

Environment and social officer at FCC, Sulaiman Zainu Parker, said Masada should take responsibility for that mess because they placed the waste there, which was a strategic place in the city.

“Masada is responsible to keep the city clean and they are the people who decided to place dustbins there. They must ensure they clean it every day,” he said, adding that Masada had promised to clean it up regularly because it was their responsibility and that they FCC must not be blamed in any way.

It could be recalled that on 28 September 2012 the ministry of local government signed an agreement with Masada Energy International Sierra Leone, LLC, to collect, manage, and convert the country’s municipal solid and liquid waste into renewable fuels.

Its community development manager, Jamil Bawoh, told AYV that there were 65 illegal transit points in Freetown, which were not ideal places to erect dustbins, but that there was no other option as was the case with the dustbin at eastern police roundabout.

“We only work with the dictate of city council because Masada is a private company that just can’t do things on our own because we are not constitutionally guided to select where we are to place dustbins in the city,” Bawoh added.

He said they were working on those illegal transit points so that the council could consider having dustbins at appropriate points, adding that if Masada stopped working for just a day or two the city would not be good to resided in it.

“Most of the lands that were available at different communities for waste disposal have been sold and that is the reason why we have a lot of illegal waste transitional points. So, if people saw dustbins in places that are not ideal, this is the reason for that,” he said.

Alusine Bangura, a trader at the eastern police roundabout said the dustbin was in the wrong part of town and would make the city look odd.

“This might continue in other major parts in the city and that bad smell that comes out of those dustbins is a threat to our health, he said.

Isatu Turay, a pedestrian, told AYV that they really didn’t want the dustbin in front of the Annie Walsh school and that Masada should consider hanging tiny dustbins around the area rather than putting a huge dustbin in that part of the city.

A female trader, who refused to be named, said it was entirely their fault because instead of them depositing the waste in the bin some of them had done so on the ground which was too bad.