Head Of NSWMA Commends St. Andrew Resident For Assisting To Clear Garbage

Executive Director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), Audley Gordon, has commended Kemar Folkes of South St. Andrew, who provided his equipment to assist the sanitation team to clear an area of garbage, on May 26.

The sanitation team was responding to a call for the collection of garbage on 7^th Street in Trench Town, St. Andrew.

“It is very difficult to use physical labour and load the trucks because containerisation is a challenge in many areas, but more so in these densely populated areas. It is difficult having people picking up, raking and shovelling up and putting it in the truck. Sometimes to resolve these mini-dump types of challenges we require heavy-duty equipment,” Mr. Gordon told JIS News.

“In this particular community, Mr. Folkes was quick, without any prompting, to offer the services of a piece of heavy-duty equipment that he owns. This is exactly what I want right across Jamaica, where people will come to the party. What Mr. Folkes demonstrated is how, together, we can make it happen. That is exactly the message I am pushing across Jamaica – partnership,” he added.

The 36-year-old has on several occasions offered the service of his tractor to push garbage out of the road in his and neighbouring communities and to assist the NSWMA team in loading tipper trucks.

“It is always a concern of mine to use the tractor to push the garbage to ensure it is out of the road and get the community in order. On more than one occasion, a truck will come and I use the tractor to load it up to offset some of the work, because it is a lot for the workmen sometimes based on the amount of garbage at the skip. I’m always willing to help and assist to get the garbage removed,” Mr. Folkes told JIS News.

He attributed the large amount of garbage on May 26 to the at-home Labour Day activities on May 24.

To help combat the problem of garbage flowing over into the street, Mr. Folkes has gathered other community members to help him work on the skip at 7^th Street.

“Based on the size skip, and it is also damaged, what we are planning to do is try and fix that. We are planning to build a bigger skip, so that we can have the garbage under control. I have the material and one of the residents is a mason, so we are coming together to sort it out. It is our community and we always like to know that our community is clean,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mr. Gordon expressed thanks to Mr. Folkes.

“I say kudos to you Mr. Folkes. I cannot give enough praise to your action and the genuine community spirit that you have displayed. You have demonstrated, beyond a doubt, that there is a lot that is right with Jamaica. We urge you to keep going, keep encouraging other members of the community, and continue to lead on this,” Mr. Gordon said.

He is encouraging like-minded Jamaicans to partner with the NSWMA by calling the Authority, through its toll-free line­­­­­­­­­­­­ 888-CLEAN-JA (253-2652), free mobile application available for android and iOS and its social media pages @nswma.