MONTEGO BAY, St James — Tired of seeing abandoned cars littering this parish, one councillor has suggested that the State-run waste collection agency partner with scrap metal companies to find a solution.

During last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation (SJMC), councillors said the problem of abandoned vehicles has plagued the parish for years. The lone crane truck owned by Western Parks and Markets (WPM) Waste Management Limited, the regional arm of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), has been out of service for several months and derelict vehicles have become an eyesore and possible health risk.

No timeline has been given for how long the crane truck is expected to be out of use, however WPM’s senior public cleansing inspector, Julian Robinson told the meeting that the solid waste team is trying to find other ways to tackle the issue.

“There are some problems with the boom and piston that operate the crane, so that unit is still out of operation. We are looking at getting some other lifting device to have a number of these derelict vehicles in and around the parish removed,” Robinson said.

Councillor Kerry Thomas (People’s National Party, Mount Salem Division) suggested that the agency could benefit from a partnership with scrap metal companies. He was confident, he said, that they would welcome the partnership as they were in a “very lucrative” line of business.

“Regarding derelict vehicles, we have been at this for a long while. Can solid waste partner with scrap metal companies?” the councillor queried.

Once vehicles are tagged and identified for removal from the streets, he said, there was no need to take them to the dump if scrap metal companies agree to take them.

It will now be up to the WPM to see if the idea has merit.

“I will make the necessary recommendation, as was stated by Councillor Thomas, to the operation team and the decision will be theirs,” the WMP’s Robinson said of the suggestion.

However, while acknowledging his colleague’s recommendation, Councillor Gregory Wint (Jamaica Labour Party, Welcome Hall Division) suggested a different approach, one that may be quicker to implement. He pointed out that he had made a suggestion, in a previous meeting, for WPM and the health department to work together with the council to identify a solution. That will take time, he said, and the council has a responsibility to act.

“We have a wrecker system that we use to take up motor vehicles, could we find some way to assist us councillors, especially in rural areas, by picking up these bulky wastes and bringing them to the dump?” Wint questioned. “What Councillor Thomas is saying, I know that it sounds very good but that would be long in coming. So, if we could sit down with them… and see how we can find ways and means, because if the waste comes through local government we must find some resources through the council to help us councillors get rid of derelict vehicles.”

He said he has been asking, for five years, to have abandoned vehicles removed from his division and some dump sites are now close to gullies or on privately owned land.

“Let us see if we can have some arrangements or a meeting to discuss this as soon as possible. They are not only dangerous, but they retain water and bring mosquito problems with them,” he warned.

— Rochelle Clayton