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MORANT BAY, St Thomas - With drivers they are trying to hire failing to pass the driving test and mechanical issues hitting trucks hired from the private sector, Metropolitan Parks and Markets (MPM) Waste Management Limited is having a hard time granting councillors of this parish their wish to keep their divisions clean.During last Thursday's monthly meeting of the St Thomas Municipal Corporation, MPM's Acting Regional Operations Manager Nigel Gooden advised that there is an ongoing push by headquarters - the National Solid Waste Management Authority - to hire drivers. The aim is to have one assigned to St Thomas, along with a truck, to avoid daily trips into Kingston."We have sent two drivers to do the test and they failed at Island Traffic Authority, so we are still looking for a driver. It is a two-part test where drivers take a written and driving test. The drivers have been failing the practical aspect of the test," Gooden explained.Pressed on details about the search for drivers, he said a general newspaper advertisement had been placed but doubted there was one specifically for St Thomas.This did not sit well with Councillor John Lee (Jamaica Labour Party, Yallahs Division)."We are suffering from this garbage collection problem so the recruitment ad should state 'St Thomas driver needed'. We have so many truck drivers migrating to Canada from the parish," the councillor argued.He believes the distance of some eastern communities coupled with the lack of enough truck drivers to make multiple trips in an area is causing the pile-up of garbage in the parish, an issue some of his "We need more trucks! In my division people are calling me every day about the pile-up of garbage. It makes no sense to pile up garbage and keep it at your house for weeks. This only makes the situation worse," said Councillor Hubert Williams (People's National Party, White Horses Division).One of the suggestions being mooted is the addition of another landfill that will facilitate the eastern section of the parish. An area in Winchester has been acquired to accommodate the landfill. However, approval is needed.But Councillor Williams questioned the wisdom of that proposal which will see garbage being transported from the western end of the parish to its east."I can see a logistical nightmare... I don't understand this. How can we take garbage, for example, from Cedar Valley all the way to Winchester? It doesn't make sense. This is just a clear waste of money," he said.