Pimento Walk, Parry Town, Spring Piece and Snow Hill,
Jamaica

Government of Jamaica, Government of the United States of America, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Coastal Water Quality Improvement Project, the National Environment & Planning Agency (NEPA). Partners: Pimento Walk/Parry Town and Environs Solid Waste Management Steering Committee, under the guidance of the Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory.

The communities of Pimento Walk, Parry Town, Spring Piece and Snow Hill are located in the watershed area directly above the Ocho Rios Bay, Jamaica. The area consists of a mixture of formal and informal households, schools, churches and small commercial enterprises. A major source of garbage within the community dumps is from households; roads traversing the community are in very poor condition and in some cases only accessible by tracks. Northeastern Parks & Markets (NEPM) has also indicated that there are currently resource constraints, which prevent the Parks and Market Company
from providing a collection service to the area. In addition to the problem of solid waste collection and dumps within the communities, there are also a number of illegal dumps which contractors use to dispose of solid waste, as well as other categories of solid waste that have a negative impact on the communities and pose potential public health risks, such as derelict vehicles and white goods.

The purpose of the project is to provide an effective garbage collection system for the four named communities, in order to reduce the level of garbage in the environment, which threatens the tourism sector, the economic base of the community and the quality of life of its citizens.

The Project grew out of a partnership between the Coastal Water Quality Improvement Project (CWIP) and the communities of Pimento Walk, Parry Town, Spring Piece and Snow Hill. The first meeting between CWIP and the communities took place in October 1999. At the meeting, it became clear that the community had extensive knowledge of the problem and its negative impacts on the town of Ocho Rios and the Bay. A workshop to develop a project profile was held and at subse-quent meetings a Steering Committee was put in place.

An assessment of all the communities indicated that approximately
22 skips or 396 drums would contain the communities garbage with a twice a week pick up. However, a communal rather than a curbside collection was found to be a viable option given the state of the roads and the limited resources available to NEPM. Illegal dumps will have to be cleaned up and empty lots within the communities kept clean in order to discourage dumping.

This project addresses Chapter III of the Barbados Programme
of Action on management of wastes.

To date, the project has successfully made a general clean up of backyards and open spaces in the communities. Drums have been placed at pre-identified locations and heavy-duty equipment has been contracted to cleanup 11 illegal dumps. An environmental education programme has been conducted in the four communities and NEPM will carry out a weekly collection system based on the resources available within the project.

A major achievement is the establishment of a Steering Committee
for the project. This body represents four communities and is part of the Government’s plans to increase community participation through its agency for community development, The Social Development Commission. Through this project, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) demonstrates how community involvement is beneficial in terms of the identification, development and implementation of their own solutions to environmental issues, which affect them and the nation as a whole.

The Steering Committee has already negotiated an agreement
with the Parish Council to come under their collection system in April 2001, which will constitute the next step of the project. Placement of skips, beautification of the area, the strategic placement of signs, and a best-kept community competition will complete the project.

• Capacity building functions well as both an individual and group activity. Communities are able to address their own problems with proper financial resources and technical and organizational development support.
• Local governance representatives have been known to be critical of the process, but they must have a clear understanding of what is to be achieved in addition to a clear indication of their role in the process.

Ms. Maureen Rowe
Organization Strengthening Officer
Coastal Water Quality Improvement Project
5 Oxford Park Avenue
Kingston 5
Jamaica, West Indies
Tel.: (809) 754-3910-2
E-mail: ard@cwjamaica.com

Mr. Franklin McDonald
Chief Executive Officer
National Environment & Planning Agency
10 Caledonia Avenue
Kingston 5
Jamaica, West Indies
Tel.: (876) 754-7526
E-mail: fmcdonald@igc.org

Mrs. Nova Johnson
Chairman
Pimento Walk/Parry Town and Environs Solid Waste
Management Steering Committee
P.O. Box 24
Ocho Rios, Saint Ann
Jamaica, West Indies
Tel.: (809) 795-3199