NSWMA manager: St James residents still without civic pride in waste disposal
Published:Wednesday | September 20, 2023 | 12:07 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
EDWARD MUIR, the newly appointed regional operations manager for the National Solid Waste Management Authority’s [NSWMA] Western Parks and Markets Waste Management Limited, is lamenting the lack of care for proper waste management in St James despite his entity’s continued efforts to keep the parish clean.
While presenting the NSWMA’s report to the St James Municipal Corporation’s monthly meeting last Thursday, Muir complained that citizens continue to improperly dispose of garbage, including throwing their waste out of moving vehicles along the roadway.
“Over the past couple of weeks, I have put most of my energy and resources around Montego Bay, and the challenge I have come across is that residents continue to disregard proper civic pride. We have seen where people continue to throw garbage through their windows on to the streetside,” said Muir.
“Most times when we go out in the morning [for garbage collection], in the afternoon it is as if we had never done anything, because people continue to disregard proper civic pride. We do have some resource problems, but we are working around the clock to see how best we can fix this problem in St James,” Muir added.
Over the years, St James has developed a history of poor garbage collection and disposal, compounded by frequent reports of rat infestation due to improper disposal of food waste along the roadside and in drains. In March this year, within St James, the NSWMA’s enforcement teams issued 23 tickets for littering and 17 compliance removal notices.The issue of improper garbage disposal – along with poor infrastructure and recurring drainage issues – has also been identified as a contributing factor to multiple instances of flooding in and around Montego Bay.
In February of this year, the National Works Agency expressed cautious optimism that its mitigation works will help to contain potentially high volumes of water, even as it made no guarantees that flooding will not take place.
Muir also noted that there are only 12 garbage trucks available for waste collection in St James, and that the number is not sufficient to service the parish.
“Currently we have 12 operational units for St James, but based on assessments, we need no less than 20 trucks to properly maintain St James for once-a-week collection. We have identified two trucks in the garage that we are currently working on, and hopefully those two trucks will be out in less than three weeks,” said Muir.
Concerns were previously raised during April’s sitting of the StJMC as to whether the number of garbage trucks in St James was enough for adequate waste collection. At that time, it was reported that there were 12 trucks available to serve the parish; the same number is presently available.
It was further disclosed during Thursday’s meeting of the StJMC that 34 districts across St James were in backlog for waste collection in July, while 48 communities were in backlog for August. Additionally, there were 34 removal notices and 28 litter tickets issued in the parish between July and August.