WPM says 32 trucks would be adequate for post-Melissa clean-up
Published:Monday | January 26, 2026 | 12:05 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The National Solid Waste Management Authority’s (NSWMA) Western Parks and Markets (WPM) currently has 16 government-issued garbage trucks, four tipper trucks, and seven supplementary units to service its coverage area across western Jamaica, less than the minimum 32 units required for adequate waste collection following Hurricane Melissa.
WPM has responsibility for St James, Trelawny, Hanover, and Westmoreland, all of which were severely impacted by the passage of Hurricane Melissa on October 28, 2025, along with St Elizabeth. Since the storm’s landfall, residents have blasted the NSWMA for not collecting their waste in a timely fashion, citing concerns about rat infestation and other environmental and health concerns.
Dramaine Jones, WPM’s regional operations manager, told The Gleaner earlier this month that the issue is aggravated by several issues, such as garbage trucks breaking down due to non-stop use to clear away debris, including post-hurricane waste.
“As of January 15, across the region, we have 16 units and four tipper trucks operational. They have been on call literally twenty-four seven because we have some areas that you will clean today, and the debris, bulky waste, and residential waste goes back out there tomorrow. On a regular day, with no significant events, holidays, or major cleaning activity, a minimum of 30 to 32 units would be adequate,” said Jones.
“Coming into January, we have seen some improvement in terms of the supplementary workforce as we are up to seven trucks now, regionally, and the number may step up to nine in the coming days. But when you have a unit running 20 hours for the day, you are prone to it breaking down, and whenever you stretch those units further, they are even more prone to breakdown,” Jones added.
“Even though we have a service regimen in place, and we have a response team from our garage, we still, at times, have units that are down. We did an assessment prior to Hurricane Melissa, and we had up to 70 per cent of what we actually need.”
Compactor trucks
Jones noted that compactor trucks, which compress garbage loads and could hold more waste than tipper trucks, are not as readily available, and sometimes the ones that are used may be damaged by certain types of bulky waste.
“Garbage compactors are specialised pieces of equipment, and whereas typically, you will have a man who has a tipper parked at his yard and will do some work with it, a compactor is a purposeful piece of equipment that someone would have to intentionally import. Also, we have told persons not to dispose of things like batteries or air conditioning units, but they will mix those into the garbage, so when the waste is compacted, you realise there was a small AC unit in there, and that helps to degrade some of our units … and we do not have a lot of compactors lying around,” Jones explained.
The issue is further compounded by the cost and quality of supplementary units and a need for more drivers and sanitation officers as well as contracted drivers accepting lucrative jobs to remove post-Melissa waste from hotels and other private entities.
“We spoke to some of the tipper truck drivers because we wanted to engage them to assist since there is excess waste production, but now is a popular tipper truck time because all the hotels are renovating, clearing, and rebuilding. Wherever the prime dollar is, that is where the tipper trucks will go,” said Jones.
Truckloads
According to WPM’s preliminary figures, approximately 7,000 truckloads of garbage have been collected from the four parishes in its coverage area since Hurricane Melissa’s passage. Of that amount, approximately 5,000 truckloads of waste have been removed from across St James, including 3,000 loads from the flood-ravaged Catherine Hall area in Montego Bay; up to 1,000 truckloads from Westmoreland; and 500 truckloads each from Hanover and Trelawny.
Meanwhile, Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie, chief executive officer of the Jamaica Environment Trust, said Jamaica needs a comprehensive and tangible waste-disposal plan.
Systematic approach
“We need to take a more systematic approach around waste because I do not hear of a specific plan for it. I have seen reports where the prime minister (Dr Andrew Holness) has said that we are looking at all options but that the first priority is to just remove the waste. But you cannot just remove the waste without knowing what to do with the waste,” said Rodriguez-Moodie.
“In some of the communities that we work with, including through our Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica programme, one of the things they say is that they do not have anywhere to put the garbage, and people just find a spot and tie it up. But that place becomes nasty because they cannot containerise the garbage, and NSWMA does not necessarily have the capacity to clean up garbage that is not containerised,” Rodriguez-Moodie added.
Despite this, waste-management efforts are taking place in western Jamaica independent of NSWMA. In St James, for example, Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon is lauding the St James Municipal Corporation’s (StJMC) two-year-old plastic bottle collection drive under the MoBay STEP-UP Programme, aimed at cleaning and beautifying the city.
“By diverting thousands of pounds of plastic from drains, gullies, and landfills, we are reducing flooding risks, improving the appearance of our city, and strengthening Montego Bay’s appeal as a resort city. We are building a culture of responsibility by showing residents that waste separation and recycling are practical, achievable steps that everyone can take,” said Vernon, who is chairman of the StJMC.
“The bottle drive is proof that when we mobilise together, we can turn waste into worth. It eases the strain on our collection system, supports the circular economy, and fosters civic pride,” Vernon continued, while noting that the initiative would be expanded and integrated with urban-renewal projects.