NSWMA to Acquire 17 New Compactor Trucks

The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) is in the process of procuring 17 new compactor trucks at a cost of approximately J$248 million (€1.9 million), which will be commissioned into service by May 2016.

This was announced by Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Noel Arscott, at a press conference at the Ministry on Thursday, December 17.

He said that in addition to the new trucks, repairs are also being made to existing units.

He urged the private sector to join the Government in making investments in compactors to increase the garbage collection capacity.

Chairman of the NSWMA, Dennis Chung, also echoed the call for private sector participation.

He said the agency has been looking at ways “in which we can add more trucks to the fleet at half the cost. We think we have found a way to do that (which) will help to significantly ramp up the number of trucks in the system.”

Mr. Chung said collection schedules have been uploaded for regions served by the Metropolitan Parks and Market Waste Management Ltd. (MPM WM) and a target of at least once per week has been set.

He noted further that the NSWMA is looking at putting in place development plans for each garbage collection region in 2016 to address the issues.

“We are happy to announce that even though there are significant issues to deal with, at the last board meeting, it was reported to us that the customer complaints have reduced by 40 per cent,” he said.

Meanwhile, Minister Arscott said among projects being advanced by the NSWMA is a pilot collection programme being implemented in the Portmore Municipality, which will see the collection and disposal of waste in that zone being privatised.

He said an Invitation to Bid has been published and if the pilot is successful, the strategy will be implemented across the region.

“This will reduce the number of trucks required by the authority and more focus will be placed on waste management and enforcement,” he said.