Regional evaluation municipal solid waste management services: country analytical report Jamaica evaluation 2002

The Jamaica government has adopted an integrated approach to the management of solid waste and is therefore
participating in Evaluation 2002 to identify and organize existing data to assist the process.
Jamaica, located in the Western Caribbean, is the third largest island in the region, with a population (2001) of
2,599,334 persons with the majority of the population concentrated in two (2) main urban centres – Montego
Bay on the north and Kingston on the south east coast.
With a burgeoning population, the evolution of the solid waste sector has been in the first instance hap-hazard
and then developed increased focus and rationale with a final consensus that landfilling municipal waste will
prove to be the most effective and appropriate method to be employed for the island.
The sector is funded primarily through property tax in the form a subvention received from the Ministry of Local
Government, Community Development and Sport. For the period 1998/99 39.7% of the ministry‘s total budget
was allocated to the solid waste sector. Under the new regime, cost recovery mechanisms have been identified
in the form of tipping fees and special waste disposal fee to supplement the budget for the sector.
In analyzing the sector significant improvements have been identified especially as it relates to the collaboration
with other sectors and partners. For example, where new development occurs in the municipality it is now
an requirement of the developer to plan for the provision of solid waste services and in the initial stage pay for
these services prior to registering on the tax roll. With the administrative management of the sector now with
a central governing body, the National Solid Waste Management Authority, the sector gave way to a system
where individual parks and markets companies had responsibilities for their own regions financed through local
government subvention and was replaced by a transition sector with standardized practices and harmonized
administrative and financial arrangements. The sector has also seen an increase in the shared and participatory
approached to the management of waste with a number of private sector companies and non-governmental
organizations emerging.
In order to achieve the focus of integrated solid waste management a number of infrastructural development
and investments have been made. During the period of review (1996-2000) a total investment of US$86,
677,411.57 was made to develop the sector islandwide. This has resulted in improvements being made to the
service delivery of the industry directly impacting positively areas such as health, environment, economic and
social development.