NSWMA seeking new site for Portland landfill

The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) is in the process of identifying a suitable arrangement for the relocation of the Doctor’s Wood landfill in Portland, the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) reports.

The decision was made following a request by the owner of the property for the facility to be removed.

The JIS says NSWMA and the property owner agreed several years ago that a section of the lands, located in Buff Bay, western Portland, would be temporarily used for the landfill.

The matter was initially raised by Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Desmond McKenzie, at the meeting of the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives in March, during the members’ deliberations on the 2020/21 Estimates of Expenditure.

NSWMA Executive Director, Audley Gordon, told JIS that the agency has been exploring several alternatives, including identifying a suitable location where portable bins could be placed to facilitate solid waste deposits, which could be, thereafter, taken to a larger disposal facility.

“That is something we are looking at… which we [would] need to do some fine-tuning on… so that we can, at least in good faith, stop depositing solid waste at that [Doctor’s Wood] location,” he said.

Other options include purchasing the Doctor’s Wood property or exploring a land swap arrangement.

Gordon said the NSWMA’s legal and operations departments have been actively pursuing several solutions, adding that the matter continues to be discussed by the entity’s board. The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has also been approached for assistance.

“So, although we are still operating the facility at Doctor’s Wood, a number of things are being done in a bid to resolve the matter,” he said.

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