Hundreds of new hires target garbage crisis
Published:Wednesday | December 15, 2021 | 12:12 AM
A massive clean-up exercise has been announced for the holiday season, with 500 ‘sweepers’ to be employed by the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) across the country and 300 private garbage and dump trucks retained to help in clearing the backlog of garbage and bulk waste.
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Desmond McKenzie, who made the announcement in Parliament on Tuesday, also warned stakeholders in the entertainment sector that parties or ‘round robins’ were still banned because of coronavirus concerns.
McKenzie charged that persons who have been advertising parties and other events should desist from doing so, as the municipal corporations and the police would not be issuing permits for these activities.
The local government minister told his parliamentary colleagues that the 500 sweepers, who have been working since last week, had joined the current slate of employees to clean major town centres regularly.
With the generation of increased commercial and residential waste expected during the holiday season, McKenzie said that additional trucks would assist the agency to respond effectively in removing bulk waste from communities.
The Government will also be targeting 24-hour garbage collection in designated areas through to year end.
He said that the ministry had taken steps to remove illegal dumps in St James and Kingston.
McKenzie urged Jamaicans to desist from illegally dumping waste, noting that the agency would be working with the police and other enforcement teams to secure compliance.
Turning to business operators, the local government minister said the practice by some to dispose of commercial garbage illegally must come to a halt.
“I am warning the commercial sector that we have the mechanisms in place to identify where the garbage is generated and we are prepared to take the strongest actions to ensure that we get full compliance,” he said.
An adjustment in the Disaster Risk Management Act will also see an extension in the opening and closing hours of markets across the country.
From December 10 to January 13, markets will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., Mondays to Saturdays. Markets will be closed on Sundays and public holidays.
McKenzie said that markets will be allowed to open up to midnight on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.