NSWMA asks for understanding re slowed garbage collection services

Despite garbage collection services being disrupted for months by consistent rainfall, resulting in backlogs, Executive Director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), Audley Gordon, has said the authority worked overtime to keep town centres and main roads clean for the Yuletide season.

Gordon said normal garbage collection services are expected to resume by mid-January, once the backlogs are significantly cleared.

Speaking on radio on Friday, Gordon said the agency faced significant setbacks due to persistent rainfall between August and late November of this year, which affected dirt tracks at disposal sites, and resulted in a backlog of garbage in some areas.

Given those developments, the NSWMA implemented measures to prevent a garbage backlog crisis after Christmas and Boxing Day activities.

"We've instituted a round-the-clock operation in the last two-and-a-half, three weeks as we approached the Christmas season. We go deep into the nights, so I'm talking people on the road like 1am they are still out there collecting," Gordon explained.

In relation to garbage collection after Christmas and Boxing Day, Gordon said the NSWMA was "able to keep the town centres and the main roads in a pretty decent shape”.

He added that, "We've gotten all the Christmas-Grand Market garbage out of the space.

"We are now back on track in terms of what our regular collections ought to be," he shared.

However, Gordon acknowledged that the authority still faces a backlog from the previous three to four months of slowed operations.

He appealed to the public for understanding and cooperation.

"We just ask... for you to properly containerise your garbage to make it easier for the crew when they come; (the workers) can just take up and move on, and that gives a more efficient service," Gordon urged.