NA gets compactor truck; 2 more to come – acting Mayor

The municipality of New Amsterdam now has a compactor truck which would assist the municipality to address the growing solid waste problem, and the acting Mayor has said two more such vehicles would be going to the municipality. The $2.5 million compactor vehicle was commissioned on Wednesday.
The town had been without a compactor truck for some time, according to acting Mayor Wainwright McIntosh. A dump truck was being used to remove solid waste from dwelling homes and the business sector. At Wednesday’s commissioning ceremony, McIntosh said that during the period when the dump truck was being used, the municipality’s focus was mainly on the business community. This had resulted in a pile-up of solid waste in residential communities, and indiscriminate disposal.
The new equipment, he said, is geared towards improving efficiency and effectiveness in the municipality’s service to residents.
“Immediately after this simple ceremony, we would be heading straight into Constituency Seven, which covers Overwinning, Islington and Glasgow Housing Scheme, but specifically to Glasgow Housing Scheme, where the bins of residents will be serviced,” he disclosed
He referred to the move as an improvement in the Town Council’s Health Department, and he called on residents to ensure they have garbage receptacles placed in their yards.
“As a matter of fact, Council’s policy stipulates that every home should be having a garbage receptacle. So, at Council’s service, these garbage receptacles will be serviced frequently. This compactor truck will complement our Canter which is in use currently. This compactor truck will be complemented by two other trucks which will be arriving shortly,” he added.
Funding to acquire this equipment comes from the Council’s 2023 subvention. McIntosh explained that the Council had been experiencing problems in the health department. Those challenges, he said, included a shortage of labourers and drivers; and machinery had also been sabotaged.
“We will be putting systems in place to minimise those challenges. We currently have vacancies for porters and drivers,” McIntosh disclosed.
Asked whether anything has been done to make the jobs more attractive, so that persons might be more inclined to remain with the entity, McIntosh said that with a collaborative approach being sought with the Government and the regional administration, it is hoped that more attractive remuneration packages would become available. (G4)