The picturesque Jamaican resort town of Negril is confronting a severe sanitation emergency as chronic failures in garbage collection threaten both public health and its vital tourism economy. Local business leaders from the Negril Chamber of Commerce are urgently seeking high-level meetings with Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie and National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) director Audley Gordon to address what they describe as a complete breakdown of waste management services.
Chamber President Damian Salmon expressed profound concern about overflowing skip containers and accumulating roadside waste throughout the town’s tourist districts. ‘We’ve done everything including writing letters and contacting people, but the situation needs escalation,’ Salmon stated, highlighting the absence of communication from waste management authorities regarding equipment failures or staffing issues.
The visual evidence along Norman Manley Boulevard and the West End reveals both public and private garbage containers spilling waste onto streets and sidewalks. Hotelier Dalton ‘Penny’ Hill of Lighthouse Inn II warned that the situation presents both aesthetic and hygienic dangers that could damage Negril’s international reputation. ‘We don’t want to lose our tourist industry,’ Hill emphasized, describing how overnight scavenging by animals creates horrific morning scenes that disturb both residents and visitors.
Regional operations manager Dramaine Jones acknowledged systemic challenges, citing equipment problems and unexpectedly high waste volumes from tourism activities. While noting that private contractors share responsibility for collection delays, Jones revealed that plans for a local transfer station—which would eliminate the inefficient daily haul to Montego Bay’s landfill—are now ‘far advanced’ with preliminary work underway.
The proposed transfer station solution, long advocated by local businesses, would allow collection trucks to remain in the Negril area throughout the day rather than wasting hours traveling to distant disposal sites. Jones indicated that executive director Gordon would announce details shortly, while simultaneously encouraging greater public adoption of recycling practices to reduce waste volume.