Positive Feedback on E-Waste Collection

The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) is receiving positive feedback from its six-month Electronic Waste (E-Waste) Pilot Project.

Launched in March, the project is geared towards encouraging Jamaicans to dispose of E-Waste the right way.

The project targets six communities – Duhaney Park, Patrick City and Harbour View in St. Andrew, and Hellshire, Angels 1, 2 and Angels Grove in St. Catherine.

During the six-month pilot, the NSWMA will collect the E-Waste sorted by residents on the last Sunday of each month.

The first collection of E-Waste was done on April 26 in Angels 1 and 2, Angels Grove and Hellshire communities in St. Catherine, and Community Relations Manager at the NSWMA, Shauna Guthrie, says the response from the residents has been very positive.

Come Sunday, May 31, the team will collect E-Waste in all six communities beginning at 7:00 a.m. and every last Sunday until September.

Ms. Guthrie tells JIS News that overall, Jamaicans have been responding favourably to the project and have enquired about how they can participate.

She says sensitization sessions in the six communities have also helped in reassuring residents that it is important to dispose of their E-Waste properly and address other critical issues.

“It’s a door-to-door effort, it’s not a mass approach. So, we were able to address issues one-on-one with persons, because what one person may have as an issue, their neighbor may have a completely different issue,” Ms. Guthrie explains.

The NSWMA is reminding residents that during the pilot programme it will only collect electronic items such as: CPUs, mobile phones, printers, monitors, laptops, keyboards, mouse, chargers and cables.

“Now that we’ve completed our sensitization efforts, we will be sending text messages and emails to persons to remind them that the collection will be done this Sunday,” Ms. Guthrie informs.

All personal information from the electronic items collected is removed by the NSWMA using a special device before disposing of it, if it is not already removed by the owner. “We are asking persons to give us a call if they are not sure,” she tells JIS News.

She says persons may call the NSWMA about the E-Waste project at 1-888-253-2652 or 448 3220, or email nswma@nswma.gov.jm and nswma1876@gmail.com.

In the meantime, Ms. Guthrie says persons outside of the six communities involved in the pilot project can drop off their e-waste at collection stations located at the NSWMA head office, 61A Half-Way Tree Road in Kingston, Dermason Plaza, Independence City in Portmore and King Street in Spanish Town (next to the Fire station).

The NSWMA is hoping this pilot project will assist in creating a database that will provide information on how to draft an end-of-life policy to guide all importers and users of electronic waste.

This, Ms. Guthrie explains, will prevent such waste being discarded with regular waste, being left on the roadway or end up in gullies.

She says this is not in line with best practice, as E-waste contains hazardous properties and poses a challenge to the workers on the disposal site, which creates an unstable compound threat to the environment.

“So, it’s not mixed with the regular waste, it is electronic waste. It’s not put on the deposal site, it is in a separate area, it is containerized separate from the regular waste,” Ms. Guthrie adds.

The six-month pilot is funded by the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management as part of a national quick start programme trust fund and is implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change.