The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is advising that ongoing firefighting efforts in the Flamstead area of Mavis Bank have resulted in the fire being brought under control. Reports from the Jamaica Fire Brigade are that, should wind conditions remain favourable, no further spread of the fire is expected. In the meantime, members of the public should...

Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) personnel stationed at two police posts in St. James will be working in an enhanced environment after improvement works are carried out at their localities on Labour Day (Monday, May 25). At Tuesday’s (May 5) meeting of the St. James Labour Day Planning Committee, Co-Chairman and Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Glendon Harris, announced on that the...

Some $10 billion in property taxes per year is needed to sufficiently address the needs of parish councils across the Island. Manager of Revenue Enhancement and Resource Mobilization in the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, Calvert Thomas, made the disclosure at a JIS ‘Think Tank’, on May 1. Mr. Thomas said although the collections exceeded the target set...

Three locations have been established so far as points of collection for electronic waste (E-Waste). These are the National Solid Waste Authority Management Authority (NSWMA) offices in Kingston (Half-Way Tree Road) and Spanish Town (King Street); and Dermason Plaza, Independent City, in Portmore. Electronic waste or e-waste describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. Used electronics, which are destined for reuse, resale, salvage, recycling or disposal...

A programme implemented by the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) three years ago, to help solve Jamaica’s plastic waste problem, is gaining traction and building environmental awareness in schools, communities and Government offices. The plastic separation project, piloted in May 2012, is helping to address the significant threat to the environment caused by improper disposal of plastic bottles, by...

The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) will begin the first collection of electronic waste (E-Waste) on Sunday, April 26, as part of a six-month pilot project. Communities in Angels 1 and 2, Angels Grove and Hellshire, in St. Catherine, will have their E-Waste collected on Sunday by a special NSWMA team, beginning at 7:00 a.m. Electronic Waste to be...

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Noel Arscott, said a resolution will be brought to the House shortly, to amend the monetary penalties associated with littering in public places. “For too long, our citizens have been careless in the way they dispose of their waste. We have all seen Jamaicans from every walk of life throwing garbage from...