LaTonya Linton, Gleaner Writer
Firemen from the Half-Way Tree Fire Station fight a blaze at the Riverton City landfill yesterday. A resident said that it might have been caused when one of the trucks carrying garbage carried material that was already on fire. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
A SHORTAGE of trucks has caused a pile-up of garbage in certain areas of St. Catherine following the Christmas holidays.
Manager of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) St. Catherine division, Charley Grant, said that garbage has not been collected in some areas due to technical difficulties.
"The garbage truck has broken down, but it should be working by tomorrow (today). The trucks pretty much break down often. We intend to go back into some areas to ensure that the garbage has been collected," said Mr. Grant.
Speaking with The Gleaner, Mr. Grant said that a truck was in the Hellshire area clearing a backlog of garbage. He added that the NSWMA might have to use the night crew to ensure that everything was cleared by Saturday.
In recent days, no garbage has been collected in certain areas of the Corporate Area such as Southside and Allman Town, which has been blamed on a shortage of trucks.
In an interview with The Gleaner/Power 106 morning programme, 'Independent Talk', executive director of the NSWMA, Errol Greene, said that the problem was compounded by the fact that there was a lack of proper equipment to enter some communities.
"Some of these streets (in the communities) are really very narrow so we would require specialised equipment to go inside of them," said Mr. Greene. "So in areas such as National Heroes Park/Circle, you will find an accumulation of garbage, which we have to pay special attention to every day, maybe sometimes several times a day, to remove as a result of that."
He said that the Ministry of Local Government was in the process of negotiating the purchase of new trucks, adding that the agency needed at least 120 units to bring the fleet to a manageable position.
