Solid Waste Embarks on Major Transformation with Cost Reduction Goal in Mind

The management and board of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) are working together to streamline operations and reduce costs by 50%.

In a recent interview, Michael Joseph, Chairman of the NSWMA Board, revealed that the organization will implement several measures to achieve this, such as acquiring new equipment and enhancing its grievance procedures.

The main focus is to reduce the amount of money spent on contractors. Joseph also mentioned that the NSWMA recently invested in three new compactor trucks, which will soon be delivered to Antigua and Barbuda.

“Currently, we are collecting between 20 to 30 percent of wholesale waste. What we want to do is to move from that 20 percent to 50 percent if it means we are going to reduce our contractors from 70 percent to 50 percent, and of course, those are going to save us some significant funds,” Joseph said.

Joseph explained that the upcoming project would require them to hire and train new personnel for loader and driver roles.

The NSWMA is planning to move its operations from its current location on the lower sections of the Sir Sydney Walling Highway to the Sealey building, which is closer to the V.C. Bird International Airport.

The main objective of this relocation is to consolidate all departments under the jurisdiction of the NSWMA into a single facility. Joseph also mentioned that they intend to hire a Human Resource Manager responsible for overseeing grievance procedures.

This decision was made in response to the department’s involvement in resolving various labor-related issues, some of which resulted in prolonged strikes by the workers.

“We have acknowledged that there are concerns which they have had, they are legitimate. I do not think some of them exist currently; one of the things we should have that person in place within another week or two is to have a Human Resource Manager in place.

“When I took over there was no HR Manager, and for such a large organization it is necessary,” Joseph said.

Particular emphasis will also be placed on the Cooks Sanitary Landfill. The board chairman said they are currently in the process of recruiting a Landfill Manager who should be in place within another week or two.

“We have also looked at how the landfill is set up we are in discussion with those whom we leased the land from and surrounding lands so we can possibly expand the landfill and manage it more efficiently taking things into consideration the risk of methane production and the spontaneous fires and also mechanism as to how do we control unfortunate fires as quickly as possible,” Joseph said.