Teach your kids about proper garbage disposal - NSWMA manager

WESTERN BUREAU:

Garnet Edmonson, regional operations manager for the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), says that teaching children about proper garbage-disposal practices is part of how Jamaicans can take personal responsibility for keeping their communities clean.

“The other day I was in Irwin, talking to a group of persons at a meeting, and the complaint was about the roadway and why we’re not cleaning it. I asked them, why are you not talking to your children who traverse the roads, asking them to keep their waste until they reach the nearest receptacle?” said Edmonson, while speaking at a town hall meeting in Norwood, St James, on Thursday night.

The meeting, which was an initiative of the St James Health Department, was designed to sensitise residents about the preparatory steps that should be taken as the nation prepares to tackle the Covid-19 virus should it come to Jamaica, as well as the ongoing effort to curtail the spread of dengue.

“What we want to say to persons is to manage and take responsibility for their waste, and let’s talk to our kids about their coming home from school with garbage. How we dispose of our garbage will minimise the breeding space for mosquitoes, so it’s very important that we practise proper garbage disposal,” said Edmonson.

Improper garbage disposal has been a long-standing problem in St James, with garbage pileups being identified as sources for the parish’s perpetual rodent and mosquito infestation.

In January, Montego Bay Mayor Homer Davis suggested that instead of throwing garbage from their vehicles on to the roadway, motorists should carry bags to store their waste for disposal in proper garbage receptacles. That suggestion was previously attempted by the Tourism Enhancement Fund in 2011, with 5,000 litter bags being distributed to ground transport operators in the tourism sector and taxi operators in Montego Bay as part of a local anti-litter campaign.

Dr Tanique Bailey-Small, St James’ medical officer of health, who also spoke at the meeting, said a special effort is required to keep the parish’s number of dengue notifications low. There have been 20 notifications to date for 2020, compared to 50 for the same period last year.

“For 2019, we got notifications for over 1,900 dengue cases, but since this year has started, we’ve seen a significant decrease in the number of cases. It means we have to continue to work hard and maintain good practices to continue this downward trend,” Bailey-Small said.