NSWMA Calls On All Jamaicans To Clean Up And Observe National Solid Waste Day

The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) is calling on all Jamaicans to join and ‘mek wi clean up di place’, on National Solid Waste Day, June 6.

“We want our customers and clients to know that we are committed to a culture of service, and we are working very hard to improve our operations, but with the best of will, we can’t do it alone; we need the help of citizens,” said Community Relations Manager at the NSWMA, Kimberley Blair, at a JIS ‘Think Tank’, today (May 31).

“We view everyone as our partners in ensuring that our country is a clean and healthy place, not just for us but future generations. We are all in this together and Jamaica’s beauty is our collective duty,” she added.

This year, National Solid Waste Day kick-starts the local observance of National Environmental Awareness Week, which hosts several international environmental observances.

National Solid Waste Day 2022 is being observed under the theme ‘One Jamaica…Mek wi clean up di place!’.

Ms. Blair shared that for the observance of National Solid Waste Day, the NSWMA will start with a church service at the Webster Memorial United Church in Kingston on June 5, then move to have interactions with the public starting June 6.

“On Monday (June 6), we will move to Mandela Park, and we are excited about that. We will be encouraging the vendors in that area and the taxi drivers to bag and bin their garbage and allow us to collect it. We will also be sensitising people about keeping a bag in their car, instead of throwing trash through the window,” she explained.

On June 7, the NSWMA team will join SPM, the regional office which services the parishes of Clarendon, Manchester and St. Elizabeth, for a school tour in Clarendon, targeting children at the primary and infant levels with information on good solid-waste-management practices.

The team will also join NEPM, which services the parishes of St. Ann, St. Mary and Portland, to launch a composting initiative in the Rio Grande Valley.

The NSWMA will then close out its activities by supporting the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), in the commemoration of World Oceans Day, June 8, in St. Elizabeth.

Ms. Blair argued that the challenge of improper solid waste disposal can be rectified if persons develop civic pride that is “nurtured to the point that it is contagious” and adopt shared tips that can be immediately implemented.

“Solid-waste-management tips that we can put into practice right away are the three Rs – reduce, reuse, recycle – very simple. Reduce the solid waste that you generate, reuse your plastic containers/shopping bags, recycle and compost. It does not take a lot of time and we can do these things to make a difference as it relates to solid waste management,” she emphasised.