NSWMA Plans $200 Million Waste Awareness Drive as Hurricane Debris Clean-Up Continues

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The National Solid Waste Management Authority is to roll out a special public education initiative in the current financial year, with the programme budgeted at $200 million.

Local Government and Community Development Minister Desmond McKenzie disclosed the plan in the House of Representatives on Wednesday while making his Sectoral Debate presentation. He also updated lawmakers on the agency’s debris-clearing work after Hurricane Melissa, which affected Jamaica last October.

“Behaviour change is possible and necessary, and I am looking forward to a greater sense of personal responsibility and civic pride, that is vitally important to a successful reconstruction phase,” McKenzie said.

The minister said Jamaica is organised into 4,275 garbage collection districts, with the goal being dependable collection every seven to 10 days in communities across the island. He added that the schedule would be supported by a separate effort targeting 8,000 tonnes of bulky waste.

“This is in addition to a specific project to collect 8,000 tonnes of bulky waste,” he stated.

McKenzie urged Jamaicans to support the NSWMA by living out the agency’s motto, “Jamaica’s Beauty is our Duty”. He said the authority’s plan to collect 1.2 million tonnes of waste this year would be much easier to meet if illegal dumping and the casual tossing of garbage in public spaces were sharply reduced.

He told Parliament that more than 2,300 anti-litter tickets were served last year, while over 9,000 notices requiring litter removal were issued. Even so, McKenzie said more deliberate action is needed to lift public standards around waste disposal.

“However, we recognise that a unique intervention is needed to ensure greater levels of civic responsibility,” he said as he introduced the upcoming education campaign.

Turning to the hurricane response, McKenzie reminded the House that Melissa left more than 4.8 million tonnes of debris across south-western Jamaica. He said that volume was equal to roughly 480,000 truckloads made up of building rubble, household material and vegetation.

The ministry, he said, allocated $500 million for the first phase of the national clean-up effort. In the two months after the hurricane, crews removed more than 27,000 loads of debris.

A further $1 billion was later made available for phase two, which operated from January to April this year. More than 21,000 truckloads were taken away during that period, bringing the overall amount removed to above 48,000 truckloads.

McKenzie said the heavy clean-up programme is continuing. He also noted that 10 tipper trucks bought by the Government and placed into service last December have been central to debris removal in the five parishes hit hardest by Melissa.

The minister said the experience has provided important lessons, and that the NSWMA is already making preparations for this year’s hurricane season.