Prime Minister Andrew Holness says plans are far advanced for the privatisation of waste collection in Jamaica.

Holness, who made this announcement during his address at the JLP 80th annual conference held at the National Arena on Sunday, November 26, noted that the initiative will create a new incentive for the collection of garbage.

“It is going to bring new investments into garbage compacters and it’s going to bring new management to the process of garbage collection. The role of the NSWMA [National Solid Waste Management Authority] will move from that of a service provider to that of a regulator, so what they will do is to ensure service quality is delivered from the private garbage collector,” he stressed.

The prime minister noted that this model is similar to that of the privatisation of the Port of Kingston and he is projecting similar outcomes.

He also urged Jamaicans to keep their environment clean.

“This is a forward move and this will ensure that our communities are kept clean,” he said, as reiterated plans to shut down the Riverton City dump in St Andrew.