NSWMA Gets $200 Million for Public Education Programme on Proper Waste Management

Executive Director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), Audley Gordon, says approximately $200 million has been allocated to public education to help citizens to properly manage waste at the source.

This forms part of the recently launched Operation CALM, which is a nationwide clean-up and sensitisation programme to proactively address issues in flood-prone communities.

“The investment in public education around waste management has to be significantly increased. We give thanks now that for the first time in the history of the NSWMA, we are seeing a sum in the budget that we can begin to work with. I can’t say it is sufficient. It is about $200 million to direct towards public education,” Mr. Gordon said.

He was bringing remarks at the National Environment and Planning Agency’s (NEPA) 25th anniversary Distinguished Lecture, held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel on Friday (June 5), under the theme ‘Recover Stronger, Recover Greener: Integrating Ecosystem Solutions in Post-Disaster Planning’.

Mr. Gordon emphasised that as the nation looks to recover stronger from the devastation of Hurricane Melissa, citizens must reflect on how personal habits contributed to the severe flooding in several parishes.

He noted that there is a disconnect between the piles of garbage dredged from the sea during coastal cleanup days and the contribution from people who live miles away in the hills and on the banks of gullies and drains.

“They don’t connect their action readily with the damage that’s being done to even the very fish that they are putting in their plate. So, there is a need… for us to reflect on our own conduct, our own behaviour, how we manage waste,” Mr. Gordon pointed out.

Mr. Gordon further highlighted that the root of the waste management crisis is not a shortage of garbage trucks but rather how individuals manage their own waste.

“So, if you’re finished with your lunchbox or a bottle or whatever, a juice cup, any form of solid waste, you generate it, you have a first duty to make sure that it is responsibly handled and managed so that it doesn’t create a nuisance for your neighbour,” he urged.

While Mr. Gordon noted that aspects of waste management are a personal issue, the Government has also taken steps with the launch of Operation CALM to ensure that flood-prone communities are protected in the event of another major hurricane or other weather-related event.

Mr. Gordon explained that the acronym CALM represents ‘C’, clear all garbage from flood-prone areas, which will be completed throughout the hurricane season rather than waiting for when a storm is imminent; ‘A’ is the advisory component which will utilise a robust public education programme on proper waste management; ‘L’ is leveraging community leaders to increase the adaptation of lessons surrounding the issue; and ‘M’ is monitoring and maintaining a presence in these areas during the hurricane season.

The Executive Director explained that the acronym CALM was also chosen to bring a sense of peace to those traumatised by Hurricane Melissa, reassuring residents that the initiative will better prepare flood-prone communities for future weather events.