NSWMA opens Hanbury base and urges higher output from waste teams

The National Solid Waste Management Authority says the new Hanbury home of Southern Parks and Markets Waste Management Limited should strengthen garbage collection and related services across south-central Jamaica, while giving staff better conditions to do their work.

The facility, located along the Winston Jones Highway, was officially opened last Friday. Southern Parks and Markets, which covers Manchester, Clarendon and St. Elizabeth, had been operating out of the Mandeville Plaza before the move.

NSWMA executive director Audley Gordon told employees that the improved accommodation must now be matched by stronger performance. He said the agency had moved about “75%” of the way towards improving the daily work environment for staff, but added that the investment should not end with gratitude for a new office.

Gordon said workers had a responsibility to honour the public funds spent on the project and the confidence placed in them by Jamaican taxpayers.

Regional operations manager Sheldon Smith said the previous office was not suited to the level of work expected from the team. He recalled Gordon visiting the Hanbury property and urging officials to complete the arrangement, saying the site offered a better space for the company’s operations.

The new building is expected to serve roughly 500 employees and support the company’s regional operations.

Custos of Manchester Garfield Green, who formally opened the facility, used the occasion to call for more public respect for sanitation workers. He said people who generate commercial waste should also take greater care when using communal skips, including those in areas such as Bryce and Royal Flat.

Green said improvements were visible at Royal Flat, but urged residents and businesses not to dump refuse carelessly on the assumption that sanitation workers would clean it up. He said the workers deserved dignity and respect for the difficult job they perform.

The NSWMA said the Hanbury investment forms part of its wider effort to improve staff welfare and strengthen waste management services across Jamaica.