Gordon wants better approach to garbage disposal

Executive Director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), Audley Gordon, says that an increase in the number of garbage trucks will not solve the country's solid waste problems.

Gordon, in an interview with THE STAR yesterday, said that Jamaicans must take greater responsibility for the packaging and proper disposal of waste.

"I will also say to you that trucks alone won't solve the problem," he said.

"People have to properly containerise their garbage, also. This thing of throwing out garbage or just putting it in a old box, where as you put it down the garbage scatter, that is not in keeping with the good solid waste management practices that we want, or that obtains in other jurisdictions. We must invest more in the actual packaging of the garbage," Gordon said.

He said that Jamaicans should take garbage disposal serious, urging persons to package their solid waste properly.

"Also, I want to say to you, there are things that we can practise, for example, we can do composting. A lot of the things we put out for the trucks to remove it for us, are things that we could use back at home to nourish your soil for your flower garden, or your kitchen garden, and so on. So we want to get people more into composting," Gordon said.

Meanwhile, the NSWMA is set to receive an additional 50 compactors to improve garbage collection across the island. Some $1.8 billion has been allocated in this year's Budget for the acquisition of the trucks.

Gordon noted that the NSWMA was promised 100 new trucks. The expenditure was included in the 2019 Budget, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused the purchase to be deferred.

"The deferral of the trucks didn't mean that the garbage didn't accumulate just the same. So we had to battle through two years of the pandemic with very limited resources. And so now that we are out of the pandemic, and we have this promise for 50 of the trucks, and 50 in next year's Budget cycle, are hoping that when those trucks actually get to shore, we will be able to push a little harder," the NSWMA boss said.