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Final consultations held on draft Solid Waste Bill
The Ministry of Communities yesterday held what is expected to be the final in a series of
Head of the Sanitation Management Unit, Mr Gordon Gilkes
consultations on the draft National Solid Waste Management Bill.
The consultation held at the Regency Suites, Hadfield Street, saw a number of stakeholders in attendance including representatives from the Environment Protection Agency, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, Exxon Mobil, Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, PURAN Brothers, Cevons Waste Management, Department of Environment, Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Tourism Hospitality Association of Guyana, Department of Public Information, Tiger Tanks Guyana, Mayor&City Council, Ministry of Education, Chief Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA), Guyana Tourism Authority, Merundoi, Ministry of Public Health and the National Parks Commission.
The programme was chaired by Engineer attached to the Sanitation Management Unit, Amrita Haricharan.
Head of the Sanitation Management Unit, Gordon Gilkes, noted that improper solid waste management can also result in the escalation of greenhouse gas emissions, thus contributing to climate change.
“With rapid population expansion into urban areas and increased economic development, waste generation in developing countries continues to increase quickly, placing a huge burden on society’s ability to process and dispose of unwanted materials.”
“Improper management of solid waste streams can pose a significant risk to human health and the environment. A combination of poor waste management and uncontrolled dumping can cause a wide range of problems, including polluted waterway, a multiplication of the insect and rodent population, as well as increase risk of flooding due to weed-choked canals and drains.”
Gilkes urged institutions responsible for solid waste management must be equipped to manage this increased amount of waste in a sustainable manner to avoid the potential risk to human health and the environment.
He stressed that it is therefore the mandate of the Ministry of Communities, to build the capacity to provide waste management services that are affordable and adequate in an efficient and effective manner.
He said that building the capacity of service providers to operate to efficiency is an all-encompassing approach. As such the Ministry of Communities requires stakeholders and collaborative partners to get on board.
“Municipal Institutions require enhanced capacity to deliver improved solid waste management. These capacities must include meeting the needs of increasing population, providing service coverage to all areas, especially low income areas, manage increased waste quantities, dealing with changing waste types, such as increasing packaging and electronic waste (e-waste), developing partnerships, especially with the private sector, meeting citizens expectations of a cleaner environment, improving working conditions of workforce involve in the delivery of solid waste management services,”
Also, he reminded that Guyana must be mindful of the Sustainable Development Goals which embrace the concept of sustainable waste management in several of its goals, and which are also linked to Global Waste Management Goals, which are set out to be achieved by the year 2030.
“The Global Waste Management Goals to ensure by 2030 access for all to adequate, safe and affordable solid waste collection services, a halt to uncontrolled dumping and open burning, substantially reducing waste generation through prevention and the 3Rs, and thereby creating green jobs, cut global per capita food waste by half at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food loses in the supply chain.”
To this end, the Head of the Sanitation Management Unit noted that stakeholders must not fail to ensure these goals are achieved and therefore the Ministry of Communities is pleased to facilitate this workshop for the various stakeholders.
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