Braeton community wants more frequent garbage pick-up

Like other communities islandwide, residents of Phase 1 in Braeton New Town, Portmore, St Catherine, have had to endure a delay in the pickup of their garbage lasting more than three weeks.

The residents said that they have always had challenges with mosquitoes. However, they fear additional breeding sites may pop up because of the mounting garbage piles, which could heighten dengue cases. On Wednesday, when THE WEEKEND STAR team entered Phase 1, the news team observed overflowing barrels with stacks of torn garbage bags littering front yards. A group of residents shared their frustration.

"They haven't collected our garbage in three weeks. They used to provide a good clean-up, but sometimes they are so full by the time they reach the front of Phase 1 that they turn back. They say the trucks have to go everywhere," said one resident. Another resident, who has lived in the community for approximately 20 years, expressed concern.

"I am talking because my six-year-old cousin just got dengue and had to be rushed to the hospital. This is a serious issue, and we have no idea when the garbage truck will come. Sometimes it takes three or four weeks without a pickup. Meanwhile, over in Marine Park, they have collections every Friday between 7 and 8 a.m., so I don't understand what's happening here," the resident said.

Another resident was spotted in her yard handling bags of garbage, as her drums were full. She mentioned that even her neighbours a few houses down, who normally have less garbage because they practise proper garbage disposal, also had full drums.

"We try to separate the garbage; we bag the plastic bottles, and a truck is supposed to pick up the metal items. We're doing our best," the neighbour explained.

Audley Gordon, the executive director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), reassured residents of that there would be some collection within 24 hours "because operations is ongoing in that area".

"Garbage collection is a continuous process, we pick up waste today, and it's full again tomorrow. We're on track, and this isn't a unique problem to Portmore. It's similar to what you'd find in other communities, sometimes we fall behind due to various reasons," he said.

He pointed out that the NSWMA had requested 100 trucks but received only 50. The paperwork is set to be completed for the remaining trucks to arrive next year. The available trucks are managing their workload, and because some older trucks have retired, they are scheduled in such a way as to collect in different areas.

Gordon suggested shifting the focus from obtaining more trucks to reducing waste generation.

"We should aim for zero waste by recycling, repurposing, and composting to minimise waste," he urged. He emphasised that waste-reduction practices, especially regarding compostable waste, aren't being adopted as quickly as the authority would prefer, despite such waste comprising between 67 to 70 per cent of the total garbage."