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Fire erupts at Le Repentir landfill site again

Jan 24, 2011 News

Another fire erupted at Le Repentir Dumpsite yesterday, causing speculation that it was caused by spontaneous combustion or by scavengers.
According to residents in the area, at 14:00 hrs yesterday a combination of thick black foggy smoke and sounds of containers exploding erupted at the dumpsite causing great discomfort to residents.
Firefighters, assisted by bulldozer and excavator operators, responded shortly after and put out the blaze.
Last Monday, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh said that the landfill site will continue to receive solid waste until next month after which it will be completely closed in accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
He said that work on the access road to Haags Bosch has been completed whilst work on the landfill site is now expected to be completed and operations commence using a 6.5 hectare cell during the first quarter of this year.
A sum of $800M has been allocated to facilitate further works on the construction of the Haags Bosch sanitary landfill site, Dr Singh said.  This, he speculated, will greatly enhance the city’s ability to cope with solid waste management and bring much needed relief to residents.
However, residents are hoping that such a pronouncement would be enforced and no excuses be made when the times comes.
According to Green, he has been pleading with the administration for assistance for a long time to help address the existing landfill site problem even as he reiterated that the Council is short of money and equipment to help itself.
The Mayor said that in excess of $30 M is spent monthly by the council to collect and dispose of garbage at the dumpsite, which has long outlived its intended lifespan.
It was previously disclosed that the garbage disposal programme, which is being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) at a cost of US18.5 M, is slated to be completed  this year.
That site will be constructed under modern sanitary requirements and will allow for the closure of the current dumpsite, which has been infringing on the space of the Le Repentir Cemetery.
The dumpsite was initially afforded five acres of land but today occupies 22 acres within the cemetery.
About US$300,000 of the IDB loan will be utilised to facilitate the closure of the current site, a process that is likely to see the site being overhauled with dirt among other interventions.
It was suggested by former IDB Representative, Sergio Varas Olea, that the site could be transformed into a recreational park when it is closed.
The state of the dumpsite, Green admitted, has caused the Le Repentir Cemetery to become a disgrace in itself. “If we can’t pay staff and pay NIS where are we going to get money to look at a cemetery?”

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