ST JAMES, Jamaica — Western Parks and Markets (WPM), the regional arm of the National Solid Waste Management (NSWMA), says it has implemented measures to deal with the downed trees in western Jamaica.

Regional Operations Manager for the WPM, Edward Muir, told Observer Online about the strategy the entity has developed to address the issue that has become problematic because of the impact of Hurricane Melissa.

“We have leased a property up by Retirement where we intend to erect a garage for the fleet but being that we are in a situation now, we have taken a decision that we would store all tree cuttings at that location for the time being so as to ensure that all household waste enter the landfill,” he said.

The location sits adjacent to the Retirement Disposal site in Montego Bay but Muir suggested that the site is not ready to take on such waste.

“As is now the disposal site is saturated and we don’t want the tree cuttings to block and to hinder any operation that we need to execute at this time,” he explained.

The WPM boss however stated that it intends to return to normal order as soon as possible, based on how things progress.

“After we have finished the clean up process we intend to move those cuttings from that location at Retirement and bring it to the disposal site,” he said.

His comments come at the start of a massive clean-up operation taking place in Catherine Hall and Westgreen in Montego Bay that was significantly impacted by flood waters and mud build up.