Garbage collection backlog in over 150 communities in Westmoreland
Published:Monday | November 14, 2022 | 12:06 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
WESTERN PARKS and Markets (WPM) Waste Management company has reported that over 150 communities across the parish of Westmoreland were affected by a backlog of uncollected garbage in October due to an inadequate fleet.
The uncollected garbage, according to the report of the state agency tabled in the minutes of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation, has moved from 100 communities in August to 150 in September, and then to 156 in October.
A close examination of the problem across the three constituencies showed that Westmoreland Central, where George Wright is the sitting member of parliament (MP), suffered the most from the uncollected garbage. The constituency is home to Savanna-la-Mar, the parish capital. The area is also the largest commercial space in the parish.
In Wright’s constituency, residents in 85 districts never had their garbage collected in October by WPM Waste Management. Westmoreland Eastern, where Daniel Lawrence is the MP, 47 districts experienced severe backlog over the same period.
While Moreland Wilson, MP for Westmoreland Western, which includes the resort town of Negril and major towns such as Little London and Grange Hill, there were 24 districts where residents were forced to adjust to garbage pile-ups.
“We have an increase in the backlog of waste coming from communities into the townships and along the main roads. We have frequent downtimes of both company and supplementary units,” said Leona Bennett, senior public cleansing inspector at WPM Waste Management Limited for Westmoreland.
ILLEGAL DUMPS
Along with those challenges, Bennett says the agency is being negatively impacted by an increase in illegal dumps.
“What we find is that people are taking waste – which is not necessarily garbage – they are taking grass bags and cuttings and putting them along the main road. Grass and cuttings are not garbage, they can help the environment if we use them in our farms and wetland areas,” she added.
The WPM is currently servicing the parish through five units on average, two of which are owned by the Government and the other three by private providers, under a special arrangement.
Of the 50 new garbage trucks now on the island, WPM Waste Management Limited is set to receive at least 10 units, but Bennett assured councillors that about three will be permanently assigned to Westmoreland.
“Three more trucks; that will not do anything much for Westmoreland,” charged Dawnett Foster, the Jamaica Labour Party councillor for the Cornwall Mountain Division.
“This garbage situation is really getting out of hand now. Can’t we use some tipper trucks to help with the collection of garbage, [given] the fact that we don’t have enough units?” she queried.
The backlog is also frustrating to Cebert McFarlane, the People’s National Party’s councillor for the Leamington Division, who argued that the irregular collection of solid waste, among other poor practices, has led to a culture of nastiness and illegal dumps.
“We are having a serious problem when it comes to garbage collection, and this needs to be tackled urgently. I would forget about the fancy part of the report because it is not motivating anybody,” McFarlane said.
Responding, Bennett said the deployment of three additional trucks will make a major difference in the collection of waste in Westmoreland.
“Once we get the trucks, we will be removing the backlogs and you will see a significant improvement in the collection come December.”