Removal of derelict vehicles should resume shortly, Solid Waste Manager says, but it will be a long and slow process

Daryl Spencer, General Manager of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), says the agency continues to be challenged by the removal of derelict vehicles from the roadways, but claims that this process should commence shortly.
 
Although a National Bulk Waste Clean-up Campaign was recently undertaken, quite a number of abandoned vehicles can still be found on the roadsides in several communities, and residents complain that they are breeding grounds for vermin, including rats.
 
These vehicles were not moved because of issues with a private contractor, the Authority says.
 
Spencer notes that there are more than 3,000 derelict vehicles to be collected, and the contractor has the capacity to move only 10 at a time. Therefore, this will be a lengthy process, and it does not include those vehicles which are not directly on the roadsides, he warns.
 
Once these vehicles are collected, they are taken to the landfill and placed in a separate location from the normal household and commercial waste. These vehicles are then stripped, crushed and the metal shipped overseas, the Authority’s General Manager explains.
 
On a separate but related note, several communities are complaining, yet again, that the Authority has been delinquent in collecting their garbage.

Spencer said, last week, that many of the haulers are on “downtime” as their trucks and equipment are being serviced. However, many people scoffed at that explanation, with the majority saying they are aware that these haulers are owed by the Authority.