NSWMA gets Compactor Truck from JSIF

The National Solid Waste Management Authority’s (NSWMA) garbage  collection efforts in Kingston and St. Andrew has been boosted, through the donation of a new compactor truck.

The compactor truck, contributed by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), under the equipment sub-component of its World Bank-funded Inner-City Basic Services Project (ICBSP), was officially handed over, on June 19, at a ceremony, held at the NSWMA head offices in Kingston. The truck is valued at approximately $13 million.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony, Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Noel Arscott, called on residents to practise proper waste disposal habits, to make sure that their communities remain clean.

“We have to tackle the wanton and inappropriate discarding of our waste by changing minds and attitudes through creative and uplifting modalities, that will influence positive responses to clean and healthy communities,” he said.

Mr. Arscott encouraged residents to continue working with the NSWMA to maintain clean communities for themselves and future generations.

He said the ICBSP is an important initiative, as it assists in “repositioning values and attitudes of community members to become valuable partners in building our society."

For her part, Minister with responsibility for  Information, and Chairperson for the Inter-Ministerial ‘Keep Jamaica Clean’ Committee, Senator the Hon. Sandrea Falconer, said everyone must become responsible and play their respective roles in ensuring that their communities are clean.

“We have to teach our children that we do not toss a piece of paper outside because somebody has to pick it up and when we put added pressure on organisations such as the NSWMA, they will not be able to clean up all the dirt and the garbage that we put out there,” she said.

In her remarks, Managing Director, JSIF, Scarlette Gillings, said the project will go a long way towards improving the social conditions of residents in the targeted communities.

Expressing appreciation for the vehicle, Executive Director, NSWMA, Jennifer Edwards, said it will be used in enhancing the aesthetics of the selected communities.

She added that the provision of basic amenities is crucial to the continued development of the lives of the residents. 

The Inner-City Basic Services Project (ICBSP) aims at improving the aesthetics of the 12 communities, while seeking to change the behaviour of the community members where garbage collection and disposal are concerned. The project has other sub-components, including: training of environmental wardens, public education and separation/recycling.

The communities benefiting under the ICBSP are: Whitfield Town, Passmore Town, Federal Gardens, and Jones Town in Kinston and St. Andrew; Tawes Pen, Central Village, Lauriston, Shelter Rock, Knollis, Africa/March Pen in St. Catherine; Bucknor in Clarendon; and Flanker in St. James.

Under the equipment sub-component of the project, the World Bank is investing a total of $38.8 million to provide: 55 waste collection receptacles; concrete enclosures to secure the skips and to improve the aesthetics of the communities; and a garbage compactor truck to support the NSWMA’s waste collection efforts within these communities.

By Chris Patterson, JIS Reporter