$450k compactor to address dump issues

The new compactor for the George Town landfill

(CNS): The director of the Department of Environmental Health, Roydell Carter, said the investment in a new $450,000 compactor for the George Town dump and ten new garbage trucks expected at the end of this month are all desperately needed to help address the myriad issues faced in recent years by his department. Carter and Premier Alden McLaughlin, who is now the minister responsible for the dump following the controversial Cabinet swap, as well as other officials were at the landfill Tuesday to show-off the newest piece of equipment.

The brand new machine was procured by the Department of Vehicle Licensing from the United States and it will join the only other working compactor the department has until a third machine is repaired.

The premier said that the machine was a step in the right direction in the short term to meet the needs at the dump and explained that the lack of working compactors had a great deal to do with the major fires. McLaughlin pointed out that past austerity measures had undermined funding for the DEH but now that government was in a better position, it was able to procure the equipment it needed. The new compactor and trucks will address the short-term problems, while the ministry simultaneously continues on the path towards a national waste management strategy and, ultimately, a solution for the country’s three landfills. (Related story on CNS: Alden confirms landfill stays put)

In the interim, the investment in the new equipment will address the fire problem, help with better management of the existing landfill and the garbage collection service.

Carter said that, with the arrival of the new fleet, the community could expect to see a significant improvement in both residential and commercial garbage collection by the end of this month and early next. The new trucks will replace many from the aging trucks that have been plagued with mechanical problems. The department will, however, still face a $35,000 monthly bill to hire other machines, such as excavators, until more new equipment is procured or until government has a full strategic plan to tackle one of its most pressing issues.

Stressing that in the long term government would pursue the goal of an effective national plan, the premier said it also had to manage what happens now in the short term. But all of the machines that government is currently investing in will still be required, no matter what the end solution turns out to be for the country’s rubbish, officials explained.

Related article on CNS: Alden confirms landfill stays put