NSWMA commissions 20 new garbage trucks

The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) has acquired 20 new garbage trucks to improve solid waste collection islandwide.

This makes 150, the number of trucks in the NSWMA fleet, although not all are operational.

Of the 20 new trucks, seven will be assigned to the Metropolitan Parks and Markets, five to the Western Parks and Markets, four to the Southern Parks and Markets, and four for North Eastern Parks and Markets.

At a handing over ceremony on Thursday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the current fleet has been inadequate.

"The government is serious about increasing the fleet and therefore increasing the service," said Holness, adding that in the past four years 63 garbage trucks have been added.

Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie conceded that the 63 trucks were not enough but said the investment is the greatest for the entity since its inception in the 1980s.

"This is an achievement that we all should be proud of," McKenzie said.

The 63 trucks received from 2016 to 2020 came at a cost of $357 million.

The 20 Shacman trucks handed over Thursday were manufactured in China and purchased through Tank-Weld Metals, the dealer for the Shacman brand in Jamaica.

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