Schools will have to pay for additional collection – NSWMA

“The NSWMA will continue to do its own collection. There is no contractual arrangement between the NSWMA and the Ministry of Education now per se because we are not getting payment for the collections that we do now once per week,” said Aretha McFarlane, acting director of operations at the state entity.

McFarlane comments are in response to concerns raised by Old Harbour High School principal Lynton Weir, who is lamenting the inadequate garbage collection at the south west St Catherine institution.

According to the high school principal, solid waste is removed from the compound by the NSWMA once per week. But with a constituent of almost 3,000, he contends, such arrangement is not ideal.

Speaking to Old Harbour News yesterday, McFarlane noted that the procedure at the NSWMA is standardized and has been utilized by other schools.

“Remember what obtains in other high schools they will pay for additional collection outside of the once per week that we do,” she said. “For example, St Andrew High (School for Girls) they pay for an additional collection once per week as is done in other schools.”

McFarlane said for the extra collection the cost is determined by the volume of garbage on site.

“So the rate for a drum would be different from the rate for a skip. And if it is that we are gonna be picking up say 10 drums at least three times per week as oppose to one time it would be a different cost, because we would work out the best cost for the service,” explained the NSWMA director.

She added: “It is not easy to estimate it (the volume of garbage) until we have seen it or know how many skips are there, how many drums are there and I can appreciate that a school of that magnitude would generate a lot of waste.”

Based on NSWMA’s rate a bag of garbage cost $200, a drum $2,000 and a skip $8,666. Cost is inclusive of transportation and collection.

Since the article was published, McFarlane says they have trying to make contact with the school without any success as they intend to engage the principal in an effort to alleviate the concern raised.

“I will call and explain to him what is available because sometimes they’re not sure what is available and the alternative that is available to them. So I’m gonna have a discussion and see how best we can remedy the situation going forward,” she said.