NSWMA team members thankful for new vehicles

Members of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) team are thankful for the additional new garbage trucks and motorcycles that the entity has acquired to bolster its vehicular fleet.

The 50 new garbage trucks and 10 motorcycles were recently handed over to the agency during a ceremony at National Heroes Park in Kingston.

The vehicles, valued approximately US$6.9 million, will improve garbage collection islandwide and enhance the agency’s operational capabilities.

Twelve of the trucks are being assigned to Western Parks and Markets Waste Management Limited; 10 each to Metropolitan Parks and Market Waste Management Limited, Southern Parks and Markets Waste Management Limited, and North Eastern Parks and Markets Waste Management Limited.

The remaining eight will form part of a roving team, dubbed Strategically Working to Enforce and Enhance Public Cleansing Operations and Programmes (SWEEP COP).

NSWMA employee, Douglas Wallace, who has worked with the entity for two years, said the new trucks, which are bigger than the previous units acquired, will assist in improving the agency’s operations.

“It’s a good improvement, because we are having struggles collecting the garbage sometimes. So having the 50 here will improve that a whole lot; [they are] much bigger and [carry] more garbage,” he shared.

Wallace noted that although his daily commute is hassling at times, “eventually we get through”.

Bikers Team Leader in the Enforcement Department, Yolanda Reid, said the addition will greatly impact their work and the citizens of Jamaica.

She expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and NSWMA for acquiring the trucks and motorcycles.

“The Enforcement Department comes under a lot of target daily, and with these bikes, it only pushes us to go about our usual duties and implement the National Solid Waste Act 2001. Anybody who decides to break the law under the National Solid Waste Act 2001, the Enforcement Team [will be] out [and will do all in our power to apprehend those culpable],” she warned.

Driver S. Thomas, who has been employed to the entity for a decade and is based in Clarendon, noted that the expanded vehicular fleet will improve the collection of garbage in the parish.

“Around my region, we have a lot of waste right now [and] we didn’t have a truck for a while. But now, I think it will improve the standard of living for the people of the parish. I’m very thankful for it,” he said.

Colleague driver, Lenroy Murray, who hails from St James, has been attached to the organisation for more than a year.

“What’s going on here is pretty nice. I like it. The trucks are fully equipped and will improve my work greatly because they have more space. So instead of making three trips per day, this can be reduced to one or two, depending on the amount of garbage we have to get,” he added.

The trucks were slated to be acquired prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

However, that plan was delayed due to the economic fallout resulting from the pandemic, including a decline in Government revenue inflows by $75 billion that year.

INCREASING DEMAND

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Andrew Holness maintains that the acquisitions will improve the increasing demand for garbage collection in communities islandwide.

“We have been very forthright with the public and we have said that, as a government, we are not satisfied. We have tried with the resources that we have, to maximise our ability to respond to the growing garbage-collection issue,” he said.

The prime minister cited the need for a culture change to address littering and foster greater care for the environment.

“Where does citizen responsibility start? Where does your responsibility start as a Jamaican? It is not just throwing garbage through the window. It’s every other antisocial behaviour which we have normalised in this country, which we are afraid, as a society to stand up and speak out against, because it would appear that the good is in the minority. I want the enforcement to be an important part of your new strategic effort,” he said, while emphasising that “there’s much work to be done”.

“It is not just the purchase of more equipment, but more work needs to be done on building a new culture of cleanliness. It starts with education, it starts with a social narrative about who we want to be as a people, and we must not be afraid to aspire,” the prime minister added.

Mr Holness urged Jamaicans to be more strategic in their consumption patterns and the reduction of waste.

“Do not throw your waste through the window, do not throw it in the gully. We are asking you to reduce your waste footprint,” he said, adding that composting and the separation of waste should also be adopted and practised by Jamaicans.

Mr Holness indicated that, by next year, relevant legislation will be in place to address garbage disposal issues.

He further advised that sites have been identified to establish two additional sanitary landfills, as part of efforts to improve Jamaica’s solid waste management system. There are currently eight waste disposal sites islandwide.

NSWMA Chairman Dennis Chung expressed gratitude for the new units, and the 50 additional trucks slated to arrive next year.

He pointed out that “Jamaica is grateful”,while urging Jamaicans to dispose of their garbage properly.

The new units were manufactured in China and purchased from Tank-Weld Limited, local dealers for the Shacman brand of garbage trucks in Jamaica.

The NSWMA provides solid waste management services across the island in order to safeguard public health, while helping to create an environment that is healthy and aesthetically pleasing for residents and visitors to enjoy.