National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) Executive Director Audley Gordon on Wednesday apologised to Jamaicans who have complained about garbage collection delays and promised to have the problem corrected in the next few weeks.

Simultaneously he appealed to the public, for the umpteenth time, to observe proper waste disposal practices as failure to do so has been increasing the workload of collectors, subsequently slowing the process.

“We expect within two to three weeks to bring the place back to some level of normalcy. We are very sorry for the inconvenience that people are going through, but let it not be said that work is not being done on all fronts to bring about better awareness and also to ensure that we have more compliance in terms of containerisation of garbage,” Gordon told the Jamaica Observer.

“What we don’t do is pick a fight with the public. The public deserves a good service, and what we try to do is to extend our hours. We are running third trips, which we don’t normally do, and we are doing a number of operational changes and just trying to get the backlog under control,” added Gordon.

The NSWMA boss was responding to Kingston Mayor Andrew Swaby’s revelation on Tuesday that residents in some communities in the capital city have complained that garbage had not been collected for up to two months.

Gordon explained that the delays have been caused by several factors, including improper waste disposal, mechanical challenges with collection units, and the time lost when trucks must clear illegal mini dumps within communities.

“I don’t want anybody to be out here and not getting their collections on time. I’m very sorry for that. But a lot of the times, what creates the backlog for us is when we send out a truck to go and clean a community, and they encounter in that space three or four mini dumps that detain them for hours. It deprives the other residents of the community of their collection, which is why we have to get some order so that everyone can just benefit the way they should,” said Gordon.

He added that while he understood the importance of working with a schedule to maintain frequent collection, the public’s attitude towards the proper disposal of garbage, and insistence on violating legislation put in place to deter the practice, are contributing to the problem.

“A lot of it is the way we dispose of our garbage… For example, if you drive along any major area across Jamaica you will see a lot of garbage along the wayside. Those are thrown through the windows of motor vehicles. Those things are part of our subculture that has no regard for the law. There are even people who say that when they dirty up the place, people get job to clean it up,” Gordon said.

He also told the Observer that while the Government’s recent acquisition of more than 100 new garbage trucks was welcome, the reality was that they were not enough to run a competent operation, as the fleet that existed previously was extremely outdated.

He said that to achieve optimal operation standards, the NSWMA would need an additional 200 trucks.

Gordon also addressed a concern raised by Mayor Swaby about street sweepers in downtown Kingston not committing to their jobs. He explained that the matter was currently under investigation to hold both the sweepers and their managers responsible.

“There are areas that we have sweepers assigned to that should be in a far better condition,” he said.

Gordon maintained that while he was ready to hold his agency accountable, the public should accept that they, too, have a role in keeping the environment clean.

“If you aren’t prepared to not litter, and if you are not prepared to containerise your garbage, and if you aren’t prepared to keep things in your motor vehicle until you reach a place where you can dispose of it properly, you are creating a problem for not just us at the NSWMA, but for the country, and that means a problem for yourself. So all of us have to understand our role in this,” he said.