MANDEVILLE, Manchester – Regional operations manager for the Southern Parks and Markets (SPM) Waste Management Edward Muir says the continued poor containerisation of garbage by some householders and businesses is posing risks to sanitation workers and affecting the turnaround time of solid waste removal.

“When we containerise our garbage it makes it easier for the sanitation officers to collect it on a timely basis. What is important is we work on a eight to ten-hour shift daily, so once residents properly containerise their garbage, it allows us to go into more areas on a daily basis, so as to alleviate any sort of backlog,” Muir told the Jamaica Observer on Tuesday.

He added that the containerisation makes it safer for workers. “… Because our crew don’t have to put their hands in the garbage to put it together in order for them to complete their schedule,” he said.

He said the reluctance by a number of residents to properly dispose of their garbage is still a challenge for the waste disposal company.

“[Some] create a dump on the main road, they throw out the garbage on the road in areas such as Fullerswood in St Elizabeth,” he said.

Muir said three years ago an area was built for a skip in the community, but it is not being used properly.

“Instead of putting the garbage inside the skip, residents drive past and throw the garbage through their car windows around the skip and on the main road,” he explained.

This, he said, affects the turnaround time of solid waste removal.

“What should have taken the crew 15 minutes to hook up the skip on the back of the garbage truck and empty it into the hopper, it is now taking us 30 minutes to an hour, because the crew now has to be using the rakes to clean that entire area,” he said.

“So what it does is shorten the operation hours, which we normally use to clean that particular schedule,” he added.

Muir, meanwhile, is encouraging residents to separate items that can be used for recycling like bottles from other solid waste and use proper waste containers.

“We are encouraging residents to use proper receptacles where they are available. Where receptacles are not available, we ask them to use drums. Where drums are not available, we ask them to use bags, so that it is safer for our crew and we collect on a timely basis to cover more areas,” said Muir.

“I would encourage residents not to put broken bottles in the garbage. It is not safer when they put broken bottles in the regular loose garbage. We would like them to separate it, so that the crew knows exactly what they are collecting,” he added.

He is also encouraging households to use fruit and vegetable peels in their gardens instead of throwing them in the garbage.

“We encourage them to recycle the banana skin, the peeling skin, all those things to help with the backyard farming,” he said.

He said SPM, which is a subsidiary of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) and is responsible for clearing solid waste in Manchester, Clarendon and St Elizabeth, has seen an increase in commercial waste following the recent lifting of the Disaster Risk Management Act.

“The garbage has now moved from residential to commercial areas,” said Muir.

He pointed to the success of the ‘Drum A Di Gate’ initiative which was launched in Greenvale, Manchester, in 2020 through a public-private partnership.

“We are seeing where residents are now complying with the drums that we gave them in Greenvale and it helped us tremendously to collect the garbage in that area,” he said.

He is imploring business owners to use proper containers to store garbage.

“Purchase a skip or contact us for the dimension to manufacture a skip. These are for the businesses and for those areas that don’t have an area to house a skip, we ask them to use drums,” he said.