St James councillors want better communication from NSWMA on garbage collection

WESTERN BUREAU:

Councillors at the St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC) are calling for an improvement in the communication between the National Solid Waste Management Authority’s [NSWMA] Western Parks and Markets Limited and the residents of St James to facilitate the timely collection of household waste.

The appeal from the councillors came during last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the StJMC, where representatives from the NSWMA’s Western Parks and Markets Ltd [WPM] reported that while nine Government-issued garbage trucks and three supplementary units were used to collect waste in St James during September, there are still 57 districts in backlog for garbage collection.

Deputy Mayor Dwight Crawford, councillor for the Spring Garden division, said that the NSWMA must inform residents when the entity believes its trucks may be out of commission for a period of time.

“You know that the trucks may break down before we see the garbage piling up, so when you see the trucks break down, you need to indicate to the residents of the communities, who depend on those trucks,” said Crawford. “You could tell them, ‘two of our units are down, so please hold your garbage for a day or two longer’. I am asking that we do a little more forecasting, communicate, or create some kind of group to communicate with the residents.”

Councillor Anthony Swaby, of the Maroon Town division, also pointed out that ineffective communication from the NSWMA will result in outcry from residents if garbage is left uncollected and allowed to pile up.

“I think the communication aspect is a way wherein we can improve some of these situations that we are having with our residents, because not having the communication is where the breakdown and the disgruntlement come about,” he said. “The residents won’t know that a truck broke down or that you are short staffed, but if you get that information out to us through your media, we would be better able to mitigate the solid waste situation with the residents.”

In response, Sharnon Williams, the WPM’s senior public supervising officer, pointed the councillors to a WhatsApp group her organisation established as a way of communicating garbage collection schedules with the StJMC.

“As it relates to communication, every single morning we have a WhatsApp group where the collection schedule is posted so that councillors are aware of where the trucks are going. I am not sure what else we need to do from our point, but the communication with councillors so far has been very effective,” said Williams. “We are about collaborating and fixing the issues that the public faces. We are not here to war, we’re here to work together and keep the parish clean.”

During the meeting, it was disclosed that St James, which has a history of poor garbage management, contributing to issues such as rat infestation, requires a minimum of 15 garbage trucks for effective waste collection. Additionally, of the 11 new garbage trucks which the NSWMA received for St James last year, three are now out for repairs.