KINGSTON, Jamaica – The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) says it will be meeting with stakeholders in Port Antonio, Portland by January 4, 2017 to find solutions to the existing garbage disposal challenges.

In a press release this afternoon, Executive Director Audley Gordon said that the meeting comes amid concerns that there is rampant disregard for proper solid waste management in the capital, especially by business operators and vendors.

“We plan to have discussions with business operators, vendors, merchants, and the leadership of the town to come to common understanding of the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder,” Gordon stated.

“We know some businesses are disposing of garbage improperly and we know there is a big problem of illegal vending. Businesses must deal with their own garbage disposal and illegal vending must be curtailed.

“We at the NSWMA continue to do our part to see how best the NEPM Waste Management Limited… can improve collection and also as regulators we must hold business interests accountable in how they dispose of their garbage,” Gordon continued.

He also announced that the NSWMA will intensify enforcement activities with the assistance of the municipal officers and increase efforts to charge violators who do not uphold the law.

“A lot of our challenges as a country are that many persons refuse to dispose of their refuse properly, garbage is thrown from cars, in gullies, in open lots, and on the streets; even where there are proper receptacles, people still refuse to use them and in many cases steal/relocate/reassign them.

“For 2017, the NSWMA will be aggressively enforcing the NSWM Act because we must put a stop to some of these practices,” Gordon insisted.