NSWMA Allocates $200 Million for Operation CALM Waste Education Drive

National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) Executive Director Audley Gordon says close to $200 million has been set aside for public education aimed at getting Jamaicans to handle garbage responsibly from the point where it is produced.

The funding is tied to Operation CALM, a recently introduced national clean-up and sensitisation initiative designed to respond early to problems in communities that are vulnerable to flooding.

“The investment in public education around waste management has to be significantly increased. We give thanks now that for the first time in the history of the NSWMA, we are seeing a sum in the budget that we can begin to work with. I can’t say it is sufficient. It is about $200 million to direct towards public education,” Mr. Gordon said.

He made the comments on Friday (June 5) while speaking at the National Environment and Planning Agency’s (NEPA) 25th anniversary Distinguished Lecture at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel. The lecture was held under the theme ‘Recover Stronger, Recover Greener: Integrating Ecosystem Solutions in Post-Disaster Planning’.

Mr. Gordon said Jamaica’s effort to recover more strongly from the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa must include honest reflection on the personal practices that helped worsen major flooding across several parishes.

He said many people do not make the link between the garbage removed from the sea during coastal clean-up activities and waste discarded by persons living far inland, including in hillside areas and along gullies and drains.

“They don’t connect their action readily with the damage that’s being done to even the very fish that they are putting in their plate. So, there is a need… for us to reflect on our own conduct, our own behaviour, how we manage waste,” Mr. Gordon pointed out.

The NSWMA head said the country’s waste challenge is not mainly about a lack of garbage trucks, but about the way individuals deal with the solid waste they create.

“So, if you’re finished with your lunchbox or a bottle or whatever, a juice cup, any form of solid waste, you generate it, you have a first duty to make sure that it is responsibly handled and managed so that it doesn’t create a nuisance for your neighbour,” he urged.

Mr. Gordon said that although waste disposal begins with personal responsibility, the Government has moved through Operation CALM to help safeguard flood-prone communities ahead of any future major hurricane or other weather system.

He explained that CALM stands for several actions. The ‘C’ refers to clearing garbage from flood-risk areas throughout the hurricane season instead of waiting until a storm is near. The ‘A’ covers the advisory work, which will depend on a strong public education campaign about proper waste management. The ‘L’ involves working with community leaders to improve acceptance of the lessons being shared, while the ‘M’ refers to monitoring and keeping a regular presence in those areas during the hurricane season.

Mr. Gordon said the name CALM was also selected to offer reassurance to people still traumatised by Hurricane Melissa, while signalling that the programme is intended to leave flood-prone communities better prepared for future weather events.