Night garbage collections offer relief but added challenges

Night-time garbage collection is being used in some sections of the island to beat the punishing heat, but workers say the approach comes with its own risks, including poor visibility, parked vehicles, and the danger of injury from improperly discarded items.

National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) Executive Director Audley Gordon said the agency has adjusted collection schedules in some areas because of the heat, allowing workers to operate at night where possible.

“It is not a policy, but where we can, we collect in the nights as the workers are operating in the heat. Some places it works, while I will get calls from residents in some other communities that the noise and smell from the trucks are disturbing them [at night]. So there are issues whichever way you go. So we weigh the issues,” Gordon said.

But one truck driver told The Gleaner that collectors generally prefer daytime runs because daylight allows them to see hazards hidden among the refuse.

“People put all kind of things in the garbage. So when you go into some of the established communities in Kingston, for example, there is no light at the skips. So you can’t see what you are taking up. People get cut all the time, so the day better,” he said, identifying himself as Kevin.

He added that night-time collection also means that workers have to navigate parked vehicles and risk damaging them, unlike during the day when many motorists are at work.

Kevin does not recommend night collection in rural areas, where inadequate street lighting can make the work particularly hazardous and “the collectors will get hurt”.

The challenges surrounding collection have been evident in Manchester, where weeks of missed collections have left residents furious and communities struggling with mountains of refuse.

Residents in southern Manchester communities such as Newport, Cross Keys, Cocoa Walk, New Broughton, and Marlie Hill, as well as Royal Flat, Hillside, and Knockpatrick, have seen garbage pile up after collections shifted from once every fortnight to none in more than seven weeks.

Decaying refuse has attracted stray dogs, carrion birds, and giant-sized flies, and the combination of heat, stench, and residents’ frustration has created an increasingly unbearable situation.

Residents told The Gleaner that garbage trucks last visited some communities in late May and others in early June but had not returned by early August.

GARBAGE PILEUP

When a truck finally visited Cross Keys during the daytime two Fridays ago, it made that community its only stop, making three trips to clear the volume of garbage piled metres away from the Cross Keys Church of God of Prophecy.

“It could only clear that pile, and it took three trips,” lamented area resident Bobzie Allen.

He questioned why the garbage had remained uncollected for so long.

The large roadside mounds became an unsightly spectacle for people travelling through the areas during the Independence period in early August while remaining a constant sore sight for residents.

Charlene Shaw, a resident of Marlie Hill, said that despite daylight collection by two trucks last week, much of the garbage remains uncollected.

“They couldn’t collect everything. It was just too much. So there is still more to collect,” she told The Gleaner on Monday.

Gordon said that a number of issues can affect the timely collection of garbage in the named communities, sometimes for several weeks.

He told The Gleaner that his investigation showed a timeline indicating that garbage was being collected in some of the communities named, but he admitted that the reality on the ground may be different.

“A number of things can affect our schedule. For example, mechanical breakdown of vehicles, the weather, driver issues, and management miscalculations are just a few. Remember we are working with human beings, and with that come issues. Once these issues are in play, we will have problems. Once there are no issues, the garbage will be collected,” said Gordon.

He appealed to residents for time and patience.

“So I am using the opportunity to apologise to the residents there, and everywhere else where there are similar issues. We try, and we are trying. And despite the discomfort, we will get to you. Just be patient with us, and give us a little time,” he said.

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com