Western Parks and Market (WPM) Waste Management Limited is urging residents of St. James to separate plastic containers from their regular household waste in order to reduce the high volume of plastics at the Retirement landfill.

WPM’s Regional Operations Manager, Garnet Edmondson, said that plastics not only harm the environment but intensify fires at the landfill.

“When it goes to the landfill and should there be a fire, those plastics enhance the burning and give us less control in the event of a spontaneous combustion or other fire at the landfill,” he pointed out.

Mr. Edmondson was speaking at the recent monthly meeting of the St. James Municipal Corporation.

The WPM’s Regional Operations Manager said that the agency has ramped up its fight against plastic pollution but needs the public’s support in the process.

“We are on a journey and we want persons to join us on this journey of taking the harmful plastic out of our environment,” he noted.

He said that the entity is undertaking activities during the year to encourage plastic separation, starting with the ‘Our Love for the Environment’ initiative on February 14, and on Labour Day (May 23), and Solid Waste Day in June.

Mr. Edmondson also called on householders to invest in a storage container specifically for the collection of plastic containers. He assured that once collected, the WPM will dispatch a fleet to pick up the containers.

“Get the plastics in those receptacles, bag them, and reach out to us. We have three vehicles available to pick up all those plastics,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Mr. Edmondson informed that 800 pounds of plastic bottles were collected from the communities of Ramble Hill, West Gate Hill, and Meadows of Irwin on Global Recycling Day, which was observed on March 18.

The WPM is a regional arm of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) and is responsible for waste collection in Trelawny, St. James, Hanover, and Westmoreland.

Source: JIS