Jamaicans suffering under piles of garbage since the passage of Hurricane Melissa are being urged to exercise even more patience as the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) faces the biggest crisis since it was established in 2002.

In an exclusive interview with the Jamaica Observer on Monday, NSWMA Executive Director Audley Gordon underlined that, despite the agency’s best efforts, Jamaicans should expect to endure further delays in garbage collection in the coming weeks due to major setbacks caused by Melissa.

According to Gordon, the agency had been working on clearing backlog in several areas affected by tardy garbage collection in the period before Melissa’s rampage and had anticipated that it would have been under control in about two weeks. But the problem was worsened by the Category 5 storm’s assault on the island on October 28.

“We were behind, coming in to the hurricane, and we were just putting in some measures, like major operations in some specific areas, three trips per day in some areas, having our disposal site open deep into the night, just to facilitate that as we pushed to clear the garbage,” said Gordon. “And then, here comes Melissa.”

He said efforts to reduce the backlog in garbage collection following public scrutiny in October were put on hold due to the announcement of the looming hurricane, which left myriad issues in its wake.

“We had to do the pre-hurricane clean-up, and that diverted us. Remember that we were already behind. At a point there it became too dangerous for our crew and we had to suspend operation for at least a day to let the hurricane pass without causing injury to our staff. So we lost about four days.

“Right after the hurricane, we had to start cleaning debris off the road, moving the trees out of the way, opening up access so that our big trucks and regular people who want to go about their businesses could move around, and that took us about a four- to five-day period to get the clearance,” explained Gordon.

He added that due to road blockages, landslides, and flooding, the agency experienced further delay in domestic garbage collection, as up to 12 working days were lost, worsening efforts to return to a normal collection schedule.

“Now, in addition to the regular domestic garbage that was already a challenge, because of the break to deal with Melissa, as I have outlined — that 10 to 12 days — domestic collections would have been affected considerably. So now we are not in any hurricane, we don’t have any rain, what we are doing is continuing the debris management programme to get on top of that gap which created a significant amount of backlog for us across the island,” said Gordon.

He also pointed out that some NSWMA staff members have been significantly affected by Melissa, further stalling the garbage collection progress.

“Our staff numbers are not [all] back to where they were pre-Melissa, because people got affected seriously, losing homes, some partially, some fully. Some of our drivers just coming back out, so you know how that complicates our collection schedules,” said Gordon.

The NSWMA head said while he understands the public’s frustration with the current circumstances, he is asking for some more patience as the agency continues to work arduously at restoring beauty to the island’s streets.

“We are letting people know the challenges that we face in terms of preparing for and after Melissa, and that they will see delays. But we are working non-stop, and we are doing this against a whole heap of odds, because a lot of our staff members got affected, too, in the hurricane, plus, you know, all the communication issues and everything. But we are working, and we are working very, very hard,” declared Gordon.

This file photo shows National Solid Waste Management Authority Executive Director Audley Gordon engaged in a street cleaning operation. Gordon said the agency was behind in its waste collection schedule before the arrival of Hurricane Melissa. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)