Public consultation to begin on dump next month
Chief Officer Jennifer Ahearn
(CNS): The consultants engaged to help government create a national waste management strategy to address the myriad problems the country faces over its growing rubbish pile are nearing the completion of the draft document, according to the chief officer with responsibility for environmental health. Jennifer Ahearn said that hopefully it would be published for public consultation some time next month, when people will be invited to submit comments about the way forward.
AMEC (now Amec Foster Wheeler), the company awarded the $0.5 million contract to shape government’s national waste management policy, make the outline business case and then assist in the procurement of contractors, began work in November 2014.
Ahearn said the strategy would “outline the basic parameters of what we want to see happen as a country with regards to waste management” and provide the framework and guide for what the country needs to do about the problems associated with waste-management, as well as reducing the amount of rubbish produced.
While government has been widely criticised for moving too slowly on the project, the CO once again spelled out the problem faced by government, in that it has never developed a policy position on how waste should be managed. Until that was developed, she said, there could be no strategy for a solution.
Despite the slow progress, the premier stated this week that government was pressing ahead with the comprehensive process which would result in proper solutions for the dump and waste-management for the entire country for the next fifty years.
In the meantime, government is addressing the short-term issues by investing in new equipment. Ahearn said that the consultants, who are currently in the Cayman Islands, have been examining a long-held concern that the George Town dump is leaching into the North Sound and contaminating the water.
Ahearn said that the consultants have taken samples and that the ministry would have the results of the tests and some idea about how to deal with that when the report is in.
Related article on CNS: Dump consultants begin work
Category: Environmental Health, Health
No lets not have yet another public consultation because government can make a decision. What the hell do we vote for if not people who can make tough informed decisions? Try talking to the expert you brought in and while you are at it untie his hands from around his back!
As it stands right now, the “Dump” is a national emergency!I just drove along West Bay road (around 11pm) with my car Windows open. From about the (former) Hyatt bridge to Delworths Gas station the stinking scent of the Dump was nauseating!
How does that impress our tourist and residents alike?
Tell me again you want to study that problem for another couple of years!
Seem like the CIG’s main concern is that no garbage ends up in BoddenTown. Oh and that they keep those votes..
whom says the landfill cant stay where it is ? If operated properly the 50+acres is more than enough. Just because you move something and build a fancy building doesn’t mean you will do it correctly. look around their are plenty of pretty, state of the art facilities that fail due to being run improperly.
In caymans case the problem is not the landfill, its those running the operation they have no clue and if they did have a clue they are not given the $ to do it properly.
the problem in cayman is the old story of peter being robbed to pay paul and then they say look how we had to give more $ to the landfill. If your leaders actually spent the revenues the dump brings in on the dump as opposed to putting the funds into the general fund there would not be a problem. and you would have the money to do things properly your landfill would be something to be proud of.