Garbage collection returning to normal in west, says WPM
Published:Friday | December 30, 2022 | 1:31 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Dramaine Jones, acting head of Western Parks and Market Limited (WPM), is reporting that a seven-day cycle of scheduled collection of garbage has returned to communities across western Jamaica.
He said the escalated issues of backlog have reduced significantly as a result of Operation Sweep, in which approximately 40 truckloads of garbage were removed from Westmoreland earlier this month.
“That basically took Westmoreland to zero backlog and put it on schedule,” Jones told The Gleaner on Thursday.
“During the course of the following week, about the 15th of December, we would have seen the region going to a zero backlog, coming from about 101 [truck] loads towards the end of November,” he added.
WPM is the western arm of the National Solid Waste Management Authority, with responsibility for St James, Trelawny, Westmoreland, and Hanover.
Acknowledging, however, that while the backlogs have been cleared and regular collections of garbage are being done, there are some areas, such as parish capitals and townships in the four parishes, which were accustomed to daily collections, but those were not fully back on schedule.
“Basically, for the most part, we’ve been able to maintain little to no backlog,” Jones said, noting that during the week leading up to Christmas, there was a noticeable increase in residential waste of about 40 per cent as people replaced furniture and appliances or shopped for family gatherings.
The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP) political representatives in St James and Westmoreland have expressed conflicting views on the state of garbage collection in their divisions since the WPM got additional trucks this month.
“There is a great difference since then,” says Rudolph Utter, the minority leader of the Jamaica Labour Party caucus at the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation.
Uter, who is the councillor for the Frome division, said his constituents are pleased with the development.
“I have been getting a lot of positive calls from the residents reporting that their garbage is being collected at least once every five days. This is a huge difference for the residents,” he said.
But veteran councillor Michael Troupe, the PNP minority leader in the St James Municipal Corporation, says he is yet to see a difference in his Granville division, which is home to the WPM-operated Retirement landfill.
He also argued that the business of solid waste needs proper management and a sound and workable logistic plan.
“I don’t see any difference ... . It has remained the same. Maybe they are still getting their act together,” he said.
“The problem is not with the garbage trucks, it is with the management of the collection. It is very poor, and I am still hoping it will improve,” he added, noting that, up to Thursday, waste generated at his home had not been collected for several days, and that the complaint is the same for the residents.
The claim was, however, rubbished by Jones, who told The Gleaner that Granville and Pitfour are routinely serviced on a weekly basis by a private contractor. He promised to contact Troupe to clear up any misunderstanding.