NSWMA Says Composting is Best for the Soil

On Friday (April 22), the western regional arm of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), Western Parks and Markets Limited, awarded residents of Chamber’s Pen, Hanover for their participation in a composting and plastic bottle separation competition.

The contest formed part of the agency’s solid waste reduction pilot project which was launched in the community in November last year.

Winners of both competitions were awarded farm tools, chickens, feed, tanks, deep freezers, gift baskets and hotel stays.

The solid waste reduction pilot project is being done in collaboration with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Social Development Commission (SDC), Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) and HEART/NSTA Trust.

In his address at the awards ceremony, Executive Director of the NSWMA Audley Gordon told residents that the launch of the programme in the community, particularly the composting aspect, is advantageous especially with the rise in the price of fertilizers.

“We didn’t know at the time that there would be a war between Russia and Ukraine that would see a strain on the supply of fertilizer as we are seeing now, which is causing the price to go through the roof. Composting is the best soil nutrient that you can use to nourish your plants [and] your food that you grow,” he said.

“When you go to some places and see what people do with composting, the lettuce, the yam, everything just fat and look good, so composting must become, for Chamber’s Pen, a way of life for how you treat with your crops,” Mr. Gordon advised.

He also encouraged residents to take aspects of the programme a step further by forming clubs within the community to spread the message about the importance of solid waste reduction and take advantage of the opportunity to do composting commercially.

Mr. Gordon pointed out that they can never be “short of composting inputs” as some 70 percent of waste being loaded on to NSWMA trucks and carried to disposal sites, could be used for composting.

He pledged the continued support of the agency in helping community members make composting in Chamber’s Pen commercially viable.

“We will be with you, and we will show you the markets, that’s part of our duty… you can load it up on trucks and sell truckloads of compost and make real money,” he emphasised.

He also encouraged residents to increase their participation in the plastic separation aspect of the programme, as that too is beneficial.

The NSWMA Executive Director stated that with food security a concern, residents should utilise lands and compost soil to ramp up food production in the community.