Garbage Collectors and Waste Haulers Must Register with NSWMA

All garbage collectors and waste handlers are now required to register with the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA).
“The NSWMA, which is mandated by law to regulate solid waste in Jamaica, is initiating this effort to effectively manage solid waste in order to safeguard public health, ensure that all waste is collected, stored, transported and disposed of in an environmentally sound manner, and promote safety standards in relation to solid waste,” said Executive Director of NSWMA, Joan Gordon-Webley, in a release.
Since her appointment to the authority, Mrs. Gordon-Webley has expressed concern about the lack of a database to account for the persons that tip at the landfills, as well as the absence of proper regulating of waste haulers, which is the duty of the NSWMA.
In announcing this initiative, Mrs. Gordon-Webley gave notice to waste haulers. “Every truck that goes to the landfill and every waste that enters the landfill will be accounted for. You see, the free-for-all business must and will end; the authority will work assiduously so that we do not become a burden on the public purse”, she said, noting that this is the first of several regulating initiatives by the authority.
The registration process, which started on December 1, 2008 will be ongoing, and all persons and companies that haul waste are being encouraged to sign on.
Registration forms are available at the offices of NSWMA at 61 Half-Way-Tree Road, Kingston 10. For further information please contact the Community Relations Department at 960 4511, 926 3988, 929 7294 or 1 888 253 2652.
“Help us and play your part, because Jamaica’s beauty is our duty,” Mrs. Gordon-Webley stated.