WPM employing new garbage-collection strategy

WESTERN BUREAU:

Western Parks and Markets (WPM) Waste Management Limited, which falls under the umbrella of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), has launched a new waste management initiative in the Catherine Hall, Ryne Park, and West Gate Hills communities in St James.

The aim of the initiative, which began at the start of August, is to reduce the amount of solid waste coming out of the communities on a daily and weekly basis.

"We have to get out some of the plastics within our wastes for us to achieve reduction in the time spent collecting garbage and the amount of garbage

that goes out there," said Garnet Edmondson, the regional operations manager for WPM Waste Management Limited.

"The project will see households take the plastic and plastic bottles out of their waste, since they don't smell, and hold them for two weeks. So when you separate those plastics, it then takes less amount of time to collect."

SET DATES

According to WPM official, the garbage trucks will have set dates to collect the assorted plastics from the various communities, which should then be a less arduous process.

"We will then see less waste in those communities, and it means that the truck will get to clean a community faster in that given day," said Edmondson.

Over recent weeks, communities that fall under WPM Waste Management Limited, which serves the parishes of Trelawny, St James, Hanover and Westmoreland, have been blasting the agency for its poor garbage-collection record.

This matter was raised at the last monthly meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation, where Edmondson complained that resource challenges were responsible for the inefficient and untimely manner of garbage collection in the parish.

ONLY SEVEN COLLECTION UNITS

According to Edmondson, only seven government collection units are currently serving St James, which is divided into four zones.

"St James is divided into four zones, and in Zone One alone, there are 70 communities that should have eight units but presently have only one," stated Edmondson in explaining the challenges facing the WPM.

"In Zone Two, there are six communities that should have six units but have only four; Zone Three has 71 communities that should be served by eight units but have one; and Zone 4 has 61 communities that should have six units but have only one."

Edmondson, nonetheless, stated that WPM is prepared to clear the mounting garbage backlogs in St James and has already gone ahead in procuring a number of supplement units.

"Zone One has been given four supplement units, Zone Two got two supplement units, Zone Three did not get any, and Zone Four got three units to aid those seven belonging to the Government," said Edmondson.

"Citizens, however, should keep in mind that some of these units are just as old as ours and work 24 hours a day. When one crew comes out of a truck, another crew goes in. So, these trucks hardly have any rest time. It is over 11 years [since] the agency has got any new units from the Government."