Phase 2 Hurricane Melissa Debris Management Project set to close month-end
/ Our Today
administrator
Durrant Pate/ Contributor
The second phase of the Hurricane Melissa Debris Management Programme, which commenced in January 2026 and is scheduled to end this month-end.
The National Solid Management Waste Authority (NSWMA), which is executing the programme, has received an additional one billion dollars in government funding to support the programme. For this phase, 20 government-owned tipper trucks, along with supplementary contractors are being utilised to clear debris.
The table below depicts the number of trips removed.
| Total Loads | |
| Independence Park | 2400 |
| Black River Market | 78 |
| St. Elizabeth | 7174 |
| Westmoreland | 4409 |
| Hanover | 723 |
| St. James | 4855 |
| Trelawny | 1694 |
| Total | 21306 |
In addition, the central government contributed 10 new tipper trucks, which continue to assist in the operation. As at the time of reporting, debris management activities are ongoing in all five most affected parishes of St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, St. James, and Trelawny.
This was made possible through the support of government and private contractors equipped with dump trucks and heavy-duty equipment, along with chainsaw operators, machete operators, and labourers. The NSWMA is reporting that varying strategies were implemented to reduce and remove the waste from the environment.
In Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth, woodchippers were engaged to reduce the quantity of hurricane debris stored on the disposal sites. To achieve this, thousands of truckloads of wood were collected and transported to a designated area within the parish for processing.
The chipped wood material was voluntarily removed by farmers and other interested users for composting and sawdust purposes. The Authority successfully completed Phase One of the debris management programme by clearing all major roadways, town centres, and some inter-parish roads.
In the early stages of the operation, significant focus was placed on clearing roadways islandwide to restore vehicular access. This process was highly labour-intensive and involved the use of chainsaws, weed whackers, and manual labour.
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