Gordon-Webley

THE NATIONAL Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) has entered the scrap metal trade as part of efforts to increase the earnings of the agency, which needs about $1 billion to carry out its operations for the remainder of the financial year.

With financial challenges facing the company, the NSWMA has embarked on a number of initiatives to earn revenue.

Joan Gordon-Webley, executive director of the agency told Parliament's Public Administration and Appropriations Committee yesterday that the agency had started to sell scrap metal.

Already started selling

"It comes on our trucks; instead of dumping it we have designated areas on the side of our landfill and we have sold some already and we continue to sell them," she said.

The government agency is also working to secure a segment of the commercial solid waste market to earn funds to offset expenses.

Chairman of the committee, Dr Wykeham McNeill questioned whether the NSWMA would gain an unfair advantage in bidding for commercial contracts.

He said the company imported equipment duty-free, indicating that it would be able to bid at a much lower cost for these contracts.

However, Gordon-Webley said the company carried out bidding on a commercial basis and did not undercut private companies.

The NSWMA executive director revealed that more than half of all businesses in Jamaica did not pay for garbage collection. These businesses, she added, contribute to the dumping of waste on the nation's streets.

Company fleet improved

Gordon-Webley has instructed solid waste companies that had not yet been registered with the NSWMA to do so urgently or be barred from collecting garbage.

"Many are collecting solid waste and depositing it on the back streets of Jamaica. We intend to bring them under the umbrella or close them down," she warned.

The company fleet has been improved with the acquisition of new equipment including:

60 garbage compactors

12 mini garbage compactors

Four crane trucks

One crane truck, rear-mounted

Two fuel trucks

Four transfer stations

Two trailer heads

Four water trucks

12 tipper trucks