KINGSTON, Jamaica (AFP) — A total of 4,397 anti-litter tickets were issued last year under the National Solid Waste Management Act as part of the compliance and enforcement activities of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA).

The enforcement activities also saw a total of 9,920 removal notices being served, and 2,474 surveillance operations conducted to apprehend persons in breach of the provisions of the relevant legislation.

The information is contained in the 2024 edition of the Economic and Social Survey Jamaica (ESSJ), a publication of the Planning Institute of Jamaica.

According to the survey, the total volume of solid waste collected utilising formal systems increased by 11.8 per cent to 1.2 million tonnes, with all waste sheds, excepting Southern Parks & Markets, recording an increase.

The ESSJ said that throughout the year, public education initiatives to promote solid-waste management best practices continued under the theme “Keep Jamaica Clean – Bag It, Bin It, Recycle It”.

“The initiatives included extensive solid waste management sensitisation and recycling exercises in 60 schools across the island and the installation of static and digital billboards in highly-trafficked areas in Kingston, St Catherine, Manchester, Falmouth and St James,” it said.

Other public awareness initiatives included the sensitisation of 6,686 commercial business owners and 27,219 residents on the proper containerisation and disposal of solid waste.

Through the ongoing “Drum a Di Gate” initiative, 94 drums were distributed to residential customers to encourage containerisation of waste. While under the Northern and Eastern St Andrew Belt, and Plastic Waste Separation initiatives, 41,731 kg of plastic waste was diverted from the island’s waste streams.

“In addition, 14,100 end-of-life pneumatic tyres (13 200 more than in 2023) were removed from the Riverton disposal site,” the survey said.

Meanwhile, the monitoring capacity of the NSWMA was strengthened with the training of 320 environmental wardens from eight communities. The wardens, in addition to being gazetted as authorised officers under the National Solid Waste Management Act, are certified by the HEART/NSTA Trust as public area cleaning officers.

In the meantime, the disaster responsiveness of the sector was bolstered through the training of 1,605 employees, installation of a dome and acquisition of base high-frequency radios to facilitate the coordination of disaster risk management actions across the island when communication utilities are down.