Please call me, NSWMA tells residents

The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NWSMA) wants residents in communities where there is backlog garbage collection to call, text or send a ?Please Call Me? to its mobile number 448-3220 in order to get the matter addressed.

Community relations manager, Shauna Guthrie, told The Sunday Gleaner that the issue which led to a recent disruption in its collection schedule and resulted in a garbage pile-up in some areas has been resolved.

?We have cleared most of the backlog which was due to challenges in our resources. However, if there are communities that are still in backlog, we ask them to contact us at 448-3220. They can send us ?please call me?, send us a text, and of course our toll-free line, but the cell is preferred by most people,? she explained.

The NSWMA executive was responding to claims by residents of Waterhouse that they are being forced to dump and burn their garbage in the section of the Sandy Gully which runs through the community.

During a visit last Thursday, residents told our news team that the garbage collection agency has been derelict in its duty to the community. However, Guthrie denied this, explaining that her records show that the agency has done a good job of sticking to its 7-day pickup cycle and even has a contingency plan for when it does miss that deadline.

?Drewsland was last collected yesterday, Balcombe Drive, they are due a collection and it should be done by Sunday,? Guthrie explained last Thursday.

?The area is divided in two, and one of the areas, a section of West Bay Farm Road, they started that yesterday and it should be completed by tomorrow ... the section from Spanish Town Road side leading up to West Bay Farm Road.?

Guthrie appealed to the residents to do more to help the agency carry out its job more effectively.

?We are asking persons to refrain from disposing of their solid waste in open lots, dump, burn or put it in gullies. We ask persons to containerise it. That is, bag it, use a bin and ensure that the bin is covered because we have to consider public health in all of this, especially with all the illnesses and viruses going around.

?If you don?t see your truck call us and let us know. We will ensure that you get your collection, and if we miss you in the week by the Sunday the latest you should be getting you garbage collected.?