Georgetown: A remedial action plan is being developed by the Ministry of Communities to ensure sound environmental management of the Haags Bosch Landfill Site, located at Eccles, East Bank Demerara.
According to a release from the Ministry, the site, which was designed to function as a sanitary landfill, is being operated below its intended purpose. This has resulted in negative impacts to both adjoining communities and the environment.
On June 4, a presentation was made to Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan, detailing the current state of operations at the site and the factors which led to its current state. The presentation was made by Project Director of Georgetown Solid Waste Management Programme, Gordon Gilkes, and it identified several non-compliance aspects relating to operations at the site.
These included the absence of a treatment abatement lagoon, a landfill gas management system and the application of daily cover to the landfill. In addition, soil excavated from several locations onsite, intended for use as daily cover, was diverted, with the agreement of the executing agency, to another location for use not related to landfill management.
In brief remarks, Minister Bulkan had indicated that the current state of the Haags Bosch Landfill Site is as a result of a propensity to micromanage. On this note, solid waste management has now been placed under the control of the local authorities and not Central Government as was done previously.
Bulkan went on to say that the lessons learnt on remedying the Haags Bosch Landfill Site would inform the Ministry’s efforts in strengthening Local Democratic Organs for the management of landfill sites.
Concept
Also at the presentation were Junior Minister of Communities, Keith Scott; Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Emil Mc Garrell; the Ministry’s Engineering Adviser, Charles Ceres, and representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ministry of Public Infrastructure and the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA).
The project, which was initially funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), has seen the threatened withdrawal of the Bank’s involvement over the way it is currently being executed.
Initially conceptualised to be managed by the Georgetown Municipality, the Haags Bosch Landfill Site was managed by Central Government, since it was expanded to include several Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) on the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara as well as three NDCs on the West Demerara.
The contract for the construction and management of the landfill was awarded to BK International and Puran Brothers Disposal Services. Utilisation of the landfill was fast tracked, since the open dump formerly operated in the Le Repentir Cemetery was filled to capacity.
Under a solid waste management strategy, the new Government will ensure that waste produced by households and commercial entities will not become an environmental and health problem. It is envisaged that under such a strategy, existing dumpsites would either be closed or reformulated to achieve higher operational standards.
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