MANDEVILLE, Manchester – Acting regional manager for the Southern Parks and Markets (SPM) Waste Management Sheldon Smith says the use of metal garbage cages and poor containerisation by households is a nuisance for solid waste workers.

SPM, a subsidiary of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), is responsible for clearing solid waste in Manchester, Clarendon, and St Elizabeth.

Smith told the Jamaica Observer that the metal garbage cages, which some households have opted to use to replace drums, are affecting the turnaround time of solid waste removal.

“Those expanding metal things are a nuisance. These metal baskets that people put at their gate is why we kept emphasising the use of drum, if the bags [tear], we just take the drum up,” he said on Tuesday during a telephone interview.

“All First World countries, they just put a drum out there and we just lift it and we just turn it out into the back of the [truck], so if it is loose inside there [the drum] no problem. If a bag is busted inside there no problem, we just lift, it pour it in the back of the truck and we are gone,” he explained.

Smith said householders, however, should ensure that the drums don’t become mosquito breeding sites.

“So the answer is a plastic drum at your gate. Make sure the bottom is perforated so if anything happens water runs out. A drum at your gate is the key. If we can get every resident to have a drum at their gate, with the limited resources we have now, we could give them at least 60 to 70 per cent better service,” he said.

He added that garbage cages are time consuming to clear, unlike drums.

“If you notice a lot of them, waste gets scattered in it. When you are taking out the bags the same metal baskets are ripping the bag so the garbage gets scattered. Now, if it was a drum, it takes us approximately 30 seconds to lift, go to the back of the truck, and pour it out,” he said.

“When we go to these homes that have the metal baskets, you might have five or six bags. Lifting out the bags they get torn, so instead of what would take 30 seconds, it is now gone up to five to 10 minutes. So not only is the work harder for our workers, but the schedule is lengthened by that. Although people think they are doing better with these metal baskets, a plastic drum at your gate is the [better] thing,” he added.

Smith reiterated that households should properly containerise their garbage.

“My message is consistent. [Put] a drum at your gate. Every homeowner just place a drum at your gate, preferably the ones that you get from abroad where you have that cover and strap metal to [close] the top so that the animals can’t get into it and you strap the post to your gate. If each homeowner can put a drum at their gate. Separate the waste before putting it in the drum, we at solid waste would give them a much better service,” he said.