New compactor truck enhances waste management in Port Kaituma
– NDC urges residents to work together to maintain a cleaner, healthier environment
Waste management in Port Kaituma, Region One, has received a significant boost with the introduction of a new garbage compactor truck to serve the rapidly expanding community.
Chairman of the Matarkai Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), Keith Parker, said the new vehicle represents a major upgrade from the system previously used to collect garbage.
He said the tractor used for garbage collection before had a limited capacity and lower operational efficiency.
The community’s hilly terrain had also made garbage management challenging when relying solely on a tractor.
“The truck is a great improvement because of the capacity,” he told the Department of Public Information (DPI) on Thursday. “It takes three to four loads of the same tractor on one movement.”
Parker told DPI that these improvements are vital for the mining town, which functions as a major commercial hub and generates significant waste.
The NDC chairman said garbage collection will now be conducted daily across Port Kaituma, providing services to residential areas, schools, hospitals, and other public institutions.
“Those are areas we used to get a lot of complaints because of the tractor [that could not] handle the capacity of the garbage,” he explained.
The new sanitation initiative is also creating employment opportunities within the community. The garbage truck driver, for example, is a resident of Port Kaituma who is paid daily for his services.
While the new truck is helping to improve waste management, Parker pointed to concerns about environmental practices among some residents. Despite ongoing outreach efforts, improper garbage disposal remains a persistent issue.
The chairman said that while the government has invested resources to improve sanitation services, some residents believe it should bear full responsibility for cleaning the community.
“Residents have to play their part to maintain and to help along the way to have a better environment, because the government can’t do it alone,” he urged.
Port Kaituma is among several communities, including Mabaruma and Rosignol, that recently received garbage compact trucks from the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development under its 2026 work programme.