EXECUTIVE director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) Audley Gordon has dismissed claims by People’s National Party (PNP) Member of Parliament for Clarendon South Western Noel Arscott that poor garbage collection and mismanagement of disposal led to cases of leptospirosis in Clarendon, leaving two dead.

On Sunday, Arscott issued a release in which he stated that the reported cases of death in the parish can be directly attributed to the rat infestation in the northern region. He also expressed concerns that there is the danger of a wider outbreak of the disease if the NSWMA does not act immediately.

The former local government minister also asserted that “the state of the garbage pile-up is approaching the point of a public health emergency”.

But speaking with the Jamaica Observer yesterday, Gordon poured cold water on Arscott’s statements.

“When I asked the chief medical officer where in Clarendon is the public health emergency so that I can respond, they had no idea what I’m talking about. We can go and make wild statements and we can exaggerate all we want, but what we do at the NSWMA is very serious business. Garbage collection is not an event, it’s a continuous process. As long as there is life, we generate solid waste. So, if your (area) was to be cleaned on Wednesday and somebody visits you on Monday and Tuesday, they would see a lot of garbage because your schedule to pick up is Wednesday. You will see garbage, unless life stops,” he said.

“We can’t send a truck everywhere, every day — that wouldn’t be cost effective. It doesn’t happen anywhere in the world. There are pick-up days,” said the NSWMA head.

He also pointed out that people must take responsibility for the proper disposal of their garbage to discourage rat infestation.

“If when you finish eating you throw the leftover food out in your yard and you don’t properly secure it, you are inviting rats — even if the truck comes to your house everyday, and you are irresponsible in throwing out food. So garbage collection is one component, but we appeal to the residents to help us by properly containerising their garbage,” he said.

At the same time, Gordon noted that, despite advancements made in recent years, the agency still has shortcomings which it is working to overcome.

“We can do better and we must do better, because there are times when, beyond our control, a truck will break down, for example. We have old trucks (but) we are adding new ones. In terms of the fleet that we have operating with, we are doing our best under the circumstances,” he said.

The NSWMA currently has 120 units, including private contractors, who he stressed also have to keep schedules and abide by the same rules as in-house collectors.

— Alphea Saunders