‘We cannot use trucks as an excuse’

WESTERN BUREAU:

With 32 operational units now in the Western Parks and Markets (WPM) Waste Management Limited’s fleet, executive director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), Audley Gordon, says there are no excuses for inconsistent garbage collection.

According to Gordon, citizens have been “very patient” with the state agency and are very deserving of better service.

“The people have been very patient with us. Whenever they are hard on us, we understand why because we were not in a position to deliver the service that the people deserve,” he said.

Gordon was speaking on Thursday morning during the relaunch of Operation SWEEP in Montego Bay. The event was also used to announce the addition of 11 new garbage trucks in the region, after 50 trucks were handed over to NSWMA on Tuesday. The addition to WPM’s fleet includes six compactors, two mini compactors, one crane truck, and two tipper trucks.

He said the NSWMA has experienced a severe shortage of vehicles over the years. However, since 2016, the authority has received 165 trucks.

“When I went to NSWMA in 2016, all of the trucks that were in operation at the time ... were over eight years old. We don’t have an excuse now with trucks. We cannot use trucks as an excuse,” Gordon declared.

“The only problem we have now is how we are going to manage, and that is where we have to challenge ourselves as an agency to deliver on behalf of the people because we are now equipped.”

The executive director also stated that the NSWMA is currently at “the best place” it has ever been.

At the same time, the addition of a crane truck will improve the agency’s ability to monitor and take control of the current issue of derelict vehicles, Gordon said.

“We go move them off the streets. We go clean the place up and we have the crane truck now.

“The taxpayers buy the crane, so we go pick up the derelict vehicles off the taxpayers’ streets,” Gordon stated.

There was no crane truck in the regional agency’s fleet prior to Tuesday, and Gordon shared that NSWMA had experienced an overall shortage of the vehicle.

“We had four crane trucks and when I went there only two were working and by now, only one.”

The state agency will also be looking to tackle the issue of bulky waste. However, Gordon pointed out that residents, too, have a responsibility in ensuring that the waste materials do not take over the streets.

“So they have an old fridge and instead of making proper arrangements to dispose of it, they toss it out. Some of them wait until they find a little corner that’s not so busy and dem carry it pon car. It’s not right,” Gordon said.

Speaking to The Gleaner after Thursday’s event, Edward Muir, regional operations manager at WPM, welcomed the addition of the 11 new trucks. He believes that the vehicles will amplify his hardworking team to fully carry out their duties.

“The new garbage collection units will significantly enhance solid waste collection, in that a newer fleet reduces the likelihood of breakdowns and maintenance issues, ensuring a more consistent collection schedule and more efficient service for the communities we serve,” Muir said.

In the meantime, Gordon is also imploring that citizens exercise their civil pride by playing an active role in keeping the country clean.

“We have to have the residents properly containerising their garbage so when the truck arrives at a gate, it doesn’t have to spend a long time there picking up [or] raking up.

“I am calling for civic pride; I am calling for personal responsibility. Let us take responsibility for the solid waste that we generate,” Gordon said.

rochelle.clayton@gleanerjm.com