Major garbage cleanup to begin in St Ann, St Mary and Portland on Thursday

The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) is to conduct a three-day cleanup exercise in the northeast region, comprising Portland, St Mary and St Ann, in a bid to clear the garbage pileup in the parishes.

Regional Operations Manager of the North Eastern Parks and Markets (NEPM), Tracy Fakhourie, said that the cleanup exercise for Portland will begin on Thursday and three new garbage trucks have been assigned to the parish.

NEPM has received 10 new trucks in total.

“With every sense of pride and gratitude, we receive these 10 new trucks, which will immensely improve our ability to stabilise and maintain a reliable domestic waste collection service,“ Fakhourie said.

“I implore Jamaicans to seek ways of improving the waste management practices they exercise in their personal space. If we do not change the way we manage the waste we generate, then no amount of trucks will be adequate. Our waste, our island and our health, we must secure and preserve. It has to be a partnership. Jamaica's beauty is our duty, “she added.

According to Fakhourie, Portland has been singled out as having the most uncollected garbage of the three parishes in the region and she said special emphasis will be placed on the Rio Grande Valley, Manchioneal, Long Bay, Hectors River, Buff Bay Valley, and the Hope Bay valley.

Two new garbage trucks have been assigned to St Mary, while five new trucks have been assigned to St Ann.

The distribution of the trucks on Wednesday comes against the background of the Government's acquisition of 50 new garbage trucks.

- Gareth Davis

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