Negril gets five new skips to address garbage collection issues

WESTERN BUREAU:

Negril has taken another step towards cleaning up its streets and public spaces with the installation of five new garbage skips, thanks to a partnership between the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), the Negril Destination Assurance Council, and the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA).

Richard Wallace, president of the Negril Destination Assurance Council, said that the idea came after recognising a long-standing problem with how garbage was being disposed of in the resort town.

“We reached out to the TEF through the Destination Assurance Council and requested some skips, because we realised that part of the problem that we have is that people don’t have proper skips to dispose their garbage in so that the trucks can pick it up. Some of them throw the garbage along the roadside and in certain areas, and it’s very unsightly. So we thought that getting some skips for the resort would be helpful,” Wallace told The Gleaner.

According to him, the TEF responded positively and the skips were strategically placed in different parts of Negril.

“We placed them in five strategic locations that we believe will help with the garbage issue that we have in Negril. So we placed two here at the bus park and one in Whitehall Phase 3, one in Whitehall Phase 2, and one on the West End at Villa La Cage Road,” Wallace said.

He emphasised that the skips were not just for businesses, but also for the everyday people who live and work in Negril.

“So those will be used by our residents and workers because, obviously, we have to keep the whole resort town in a presentable manner. No garbage lying around.”

Councillor for the Negril Division in Westmoreland, Arthel Colley, welcomed the move, noting that it was long overdue.

“We have reached out to NSWMA. In fact, they have been asking us for over a year now to change the old skip that you see behind us here because it was some form of embarrassment, both to NSWMA and to the users of the park.”

Colley added that he was recently assured that as frequently as daily, there will be a check on the park to ensure that the garbage is removed and that there is no overflow.

But while the installation of skips and the promise of regular removal are good news, Wallace pointed out that the challenge doesn’t end there. Too often, he said, the problem lies with how the skips are used, or rather, misused.

Wallace outlined the protocols that will be observed in terms of educating the masses on how to properly use the skips, as a common observation is that skips soon turn out to resemble illegal dumpsites due to overflowing garbage or adjacent dumping.

He explained that the NSWMA already has an outreach programme that focuses on public awareness around proper garbage disposal, but he also issued a wake-up call to the Negril residents.

“We, as Jamaicans, are not taking responsibility for our garbage, our solid waste. And so we would like to take this opportunity to appeal to the residents and the locals, everyone, to maintain the resort town. Don’t throw garbage [just] anywhere. Don’t throw it in the gullies, because that creates more problems for us,” he appealed.

mickalia.kington@gleanerjm.com