Modernising waste management

Feb 16, 2020 Letters

---

Dear Editor,

Georgetown, once the Garden City of the Caribbean, with luscious trees, the greenest foliage and clean, pleasant environment, has unfortunately become described as – ‘The Garbage City.’ Heaps of refuse, clogged and contaminated drains and trenches and overflowing bins can be seen in the city. There is no doubt that we as citizens, are failing to protect our environment.
Steven Chu, former United States Secretary of Energy and Nobel-prize winner, claimed that – ‘the climate is changing and the proper political debate should be how to deal with these risks.’ Apart from political campaigning and preparation for 2020 elections, it should be the government and the City Council’s significant duty to ensure that the capital’s affairs are still being managed, especially with the problem of waste disposal. Aside from our differences in opinion and choices, we as citizens should focus on beautifying and enhancing our environment so that there can be a guarantee of the next generation surviving. What is the reason for our country being labelled as ‘The Garbage City’?
Georgetown disposes waste legally and illegally – dumping and burning. Most of the legal dumping is done by sanitary service companies, which take the garbage to the Haags Bosch Landfill at Eccles. The site covers an area of 50 hectares with a waste fill area of 26 hectares and an estimated lifetime of 25 years. The facility opened in 2011 and receives approximately 110,000 tonnes of waste annually.
Land, water and air pollution are primarily caused by reckless and illegal dumping. The chemicals and non-biodegradable materials in waste, both domestic and industrial contaminate ground water and soil. The value of property diminishes if it is littered by illegal dumping. Lands or places that have been turned into unlawful dumpsites can serve as magnets for criminal activities and homes for the destitute as well as diseases. The dirt and smell can also make such areas unappealing, which affects tourism, especially if the dumping is done in forests or beside the roads. This illegal dumping penetrates the water chain.
Yearly, large sums of taxpayers’ money are committed towards cleaning the mess brought about by illegal disposal. Municipalities spend lots of money fixing natural areas and infrastructure affected by illegal dumping only for this to be repeated almost as a cycle, by irresponsible elements and ‘junkies.’
Although dumping and burning may be the quickest method of waste disposal, it is also very harmful to the environment and poses potentially grave health risks. Smoke pollutes the air we breathe. Ash pollutes our soil, ground water, lakes, rivers and streams, and residents living in Eccles can experience the raining of thick, messy airborne particles (ash). Burning anything in the outdoors can cause wildfires. Similarly, setting a flame to materials, such as rubbish, plastic and painted/ treated wood is harmful to the environment because these materials release toxic chemicals into the air. Polluted air can be inhaled by humans and animals, and deposited in the soil, valuable cultivated sites, plants and other public assets.
In Trinidad and Tobago, the National Integrated Waste Management Policy (NISWMP) of 2014 manages the country’s waste in accordance with a hierarchy that minimises landfilling, reduction of toxicity and volume of waste, through reuse, recycling and source-separated organic waste management (IDB’s report). AlsoTrinidad’s Solid Waste Management Company (SWMCOL) has initiated a Recycling Depot, which allows eco-conscious citizens the opportunity to dispose their recyclable items such as water bottles, glass bottles or milk cartons.
The Sustainable Barbados Recycling Centre (SBRC) is integral to waste management in Barbados. Approximately 1,000 tonnes of waste are dropped off daily. However, through recovery of recyclable materials, 70% of this waste is diverted from the landfill. Diverted waste is recycled to be compost, such as coconut husks that are used to create mulches; tree clippings and wood used to make wood chips; soils to use as top-soils in gardens; and rocks to be used in land reclamation projects.
Waste to Energy (WTE) is a process of creating energy in the form of electricity or heat from the incineration of a waste source. The waste is combusted, turbined to produce electricity and then air pollution control equipment cleans emissions and toxins into water vapour and cleaned fuel gases. The above mentioned is the policy in Martinique and St. Barthelemy. The IDB also confirms that some other Caribbean countries such as Barbados and Bahamas are currently looking into it.
Guyana is experiencing increases in waste disposals over the years. Haags Bosch was initially designed for an inflow of 250 tonnes a day; however, it is currently accepting an average of 400 tonnes per day. With the oil and gas industry on stream, it is expected that this issue will be resolved. Such advancements – WTE and recycling, can produce less waste accumulation and alternatives to illegal and harmful waste disposals. These innovations can be very advantageous to our country.
As residents, we should practice the three R’s: recycle, reduce, reuse. We should spread the word and educate our communities about the importance of conserving our planet. Recycling is one of the best ways of having a positive impact on the world in which we live. It saves the earth, energy and mitigates global warming and pollution. It starts in the home; reuse household materials such as water bottles, boxes, tires, scrap irons, fruit and vegetable peelings, instead of dumping them. For example, tires can be used as flowerpots or an item for storage, or even a swing. Fruits and vegetable peelings can be used to add nutrients to soil. Instead of filling dumpsites with plastic, reuse them.
Comparatively, there has been an uneven improvement in our exercise of disposal in the urban communities, but there is a far way to go. It is important to note that, it is not only the duty of the government and municipalities, as Guyanese citizens, it is our responsibility to stand together, erase social differences, in order to protect, enhance and develop our environment before it’s too late. We can all join hands to reduce the amount of waste going into our landfill.
Hadiyyah Mohamed
(Sixth Form Student – School of the Nations)

---

---