Business Operators Urged to Dispose of Their Garbage the Right Way

Executive Director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), Audley Gordon, is encouraging business operators in Port Antonio, Portland, to dispose of their garbage appropriately or they will be ticketed for littering.

Mr. Gordon, who was addressing a town hall meeting at the Portland Municipal Corporation, on January 3, said the “root” of the garbage pile-up in the parish capital is commercial waste.

“The business community has a responsibility to ensure that the garbage generated by their enterprises is managed in a way that does not create a health nuisance or affect the aesthetics of the area,” he said.

He emphasised that while the NSWMA is late at times in collecting residential waste, which should not happen, it has no obligation to remove commercial garbage, adding that, under the law, this type of waste must be taken away to approved disposal sites at the expense of the business owners.

Mr. Gordon told the meeting that there are several disposal companies that they can engage to remove their garbage, as a clean environment can help to attract new businesses.

He said the agency’s enforcement team will be watching for the violators, and they will not hesitate to issue tickets.

Earlier in the day, teams from the NSWMA and the Portland Municipal Corporation visited several businesses in the town centre and encouraged the owners to comply with garbage-disposal rules.

Several of the business operators used the occasion to contract the NSWMA to remove their garbage.