NSWMA to get 60 More Garbage Trucks by Year-End

The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) is to acquire 60 additional large compactor trucks by the end of the year, which will improve garbage collection and reduce the burning of garbage.
In an interview with JIS News, Director of Operations at the NSWMA, Audley McLean, said that the units will go a long way in alleviating some of the challenges faced by the organization in adhering to its collection schedule.
“In most areas, we have a twice weekly collection and as you will understand, with all the problems with the [current] fleet the twice per week collection is not being met,” he told JIS News, noting that even when the schedule is not being met on the specific day, “we also collect on other days, which might be considered unscheduled.”
Mr. Mclean attributed some of the difficulties in service delivery to an aging fleet, with some units being more than 12 years old. “The problems we face with them are frequent breakdowns and the availability of spare parts for repairs,” he explained. He noted that this problem will be addressed once the new units arrive, which will be serviced by the dealers.
Stating that the additional trucks will help to reduce the problem of the burning of garbage, Mr. McLean said, “the fact is that in upgrading the fleet, we are trying to bring back the service to normal schedule, therefore people will realize that there would be no need for burning garbage as it will be collected on time.”
The acquisition of the 60 units is in keeping with plans by the government to replace the old fleet overtime. In June, 12 garbage compactors at a cost of US$864,693 were handed over to the NSWMA. The units, which were sourced through Key Motors and purchased in South Korea, are being deployed in town centres and major thoroughfares in Montego Bay and Kingston.
The 60 additional compactors, however, will be commissioned into service in areas outside of Kingston.
While no cost for the units have been provided, the Ministry of Local Government and Environment under whose purview the NSWMA falls, reports that the Attorney General and the Finance and Planning Ministry are in negotiations to purchase them.