The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) sees its garbage collection capacity multiplied with the Government’s handover of 50 new trucks on Tuesday (June 25).

The fleet, acquired at J$1.3 billion, includes compactor, crane, tipper, and scout trucks.

Fourteen of the vehicles will be assigned to MPM Waste Management Limited; 11 to WPM Waste Management Limited; 11 to SPM Waste Management Limited; and nine to NEPM Waste Management Limited.

The remaining five compactor trucks will be allocated to the roving team, dubbed Strategically Working to Enforce and Enhance Public Cleansing Operations and Programmes (SWEEP COP).

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who officially handed over the fleet complement during a ceremony at National Heroes Park, said the units’ acquisition represents another milestone in the Government’s efforts to improve waste management in communities and maintain a clean and sustainable environment for all Jamaicans.

He noted that the administration has been steadily and consistently investing in improving the agency’s fleet, with 165 new garbage trucks purchased over the last eight years.

The prime minister, in pointing out that the vehicles were purchased with public funds, said the Government has been effective and disciplined in managing the affairs of the country and positioning it for economic growth.

“We’re not borrowing this money; this is not a grant. This is a direct result of the effective and disciplined management of the economy that we are able to do this out of our own resources.

“As the economy continues to be stable and as it continues to grow, we’re going to make a priority out of allocating the dividends of that growth to ensuring that we have the capabilities of keeping our municipalities, our townships, keeping your roads, your beaches, your parks, your markets clean. What you’re seeing here is a significant investment in keeping Jamaica clean,” he stated.

Holness said the Government will continue to invest in delivering quality services to Jamaicans.

“This is not the last of the trucks to come. We need many more… at least twice of what we have now in order to be able to keep a schedule that would be effective in collecting all the waste that we generate,” he said, adding that the long-term play is to have the garbage collection element of the municipal waste management system divested.

Minister of Local Government Desmond McKenzie, in his remarks, said with the acquisition of the crane trucks, the NSWMA will commence the removal of derelict vehicles from the nation’s streets.

He pledged that the agency will continue to receive all the support it needs to operate efficiently and effectively.

“Never before in its history has so much been invested, not just in equipment, but in the human resources of the organisation,” Minister McKenzie pointed out.

He welcomed the new NSWMA board, and chairman Owen Ellington, and thanked the outgoing board, chaired by Dennis Chung, for the critical role played in transforming the agency.

Ellington, for his part, expressed gratitude for the new units, noting that “the authority may possibly be in its best shape ever.”

He said the agency will be focused on operational efficiency, adding that the vehicles’ deployment will be done based on a needs assessment.