Reduction key to future waste plans
The George Town dump smouldering during one of its underground fires
(CNS): The government will be focusing very heavily on reducing the amount of waste people generate in Cayman then re-using and recycling what continues to be produced, but it has not ruled out waste-to-energy as part of the solution. The Department of Environmental Health has published the final reports from consultants hired by government to develop its future rubbish policies. With the solution to the George Town dump seen as a priority for the wider community, the current administration has been criticised for dragging its feet over the issue.
In the latest step on what is proving to be a long road to establishing a national waste management strategy, three final reports have been published and the next step, officials say, is the outline business case. More than $6 million has been set aside in government’s 2016/17 budget to buy land to house the new Integrated Solid Waste Management System (ISWMS) project and money has also been earmarked to remove the tyres from the dump.
However, government still has a long way to go to address in any meaningful way the growing landfill. The latest reports identify the steps and actions that will be taken to deliver a modern system and improve the sustainability of waste management practices, make increased use of waste as a resource, and ensure the protection of the environment and amenity of the islands, officials stated in a release. The ultimate aim of the strategy is to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by up to 95% from current amounts.
The proposed waste reduction measures will include waste education and waste reduction initiatives, such as home composting, return schemes and the reuse and refurbishment of bulky waste and electronics. As well as the treatment of residual waste that cannot be recycled, a waste-to-energy facility is expected to also ensure the dumping of waste ends.
The George Town landfill, known as Mount Trashmore because of its excessive height, will also be scrutinised for the potential for landfill mining. Government plans to close landfills on Little Cayman and Cayman Brac with plans to send waste sent to Grand Cayman for processing.
“An outline business case is now being drafted, which will assess the overall affordability, implementation and delivery options for the ISWMS, and should be released for review and comment in August 2016,” the DEH said in a release about the next steps on the project.
The National Solid Waste Management Strategy for the Cayman Islands (NSWMS), the National Solid Waste Management Strategy Consultation Report and the finalised Landfill Site Environmental Review Report are all available on the Ministry of Health website.
Category: Local News
We take all our office and household plastic, cardboard, paper, glass and cans (including food cans) to JUNK on Kingbird Drive (road to the right after CUC and the Conch Shell House). They sort it and send it overseas for resale or recycling.
Another option, for households, condos or offices, is that they will bring you large recycling bins (no charge) and they will then empty them once or twice a week. This costs about CI$100 per month per complex or, in the case of our office complex, about $9 per month per tenant.
This has helped reduce the amount we send to the dump by a staggering 80%. So if there is a will there is a way. We just need to come to terms with the fact that we cannot wait for people to help us. We have to help ourselves. That’s if we truly care about this beautiful island which so many of us call home.
What ever happen to that new dump deal where Dart would cap the old dump, extend his Camana Bay, and government would open a new one behind Breakers?
I thought that was a better deal :/
So almost 4 years and endless money spent researching and what do we have? More “soon come!!!”. Ossie didnt get anything done other than to let us know he considers status holders equal in value to Driftwood. They Captain Courageous Alden took over and failed miserably, and we now hear that there is real danger to the surrounding residents. Are we going to wait on the 3 headed fish to start crawling up onshore in the North Sound? Oh but we have just approved a huge budget – lets see how many millions we pump into a few PPM supporters hands so they will support them next election. The more things change the more they stay the same. Cant even run go England anymore.
The government isn’t gonna do shit. One big crackpot of corruption and irresponsible action.
Eliminating all that white Styrofoam food containers that I see in the picture is probably a good start.
Time to start placing trash on the footsteps of all politicians homes and places of business. They are oblivious and all have homes off island with no real care for making cayman great again.
No sh-t, Sherlock! What is the PPM’s next revelation going to be? Don’t go in the sea or you might get wet? Just fix the dump will ya!!
I wonder if they also bring in consultants to help them decide what to have for lunch.
Excuse me, sending Sister Islands trash to Grand Cayman, where both of the sites are being fairly well managed? WHAT??? Fix the incinerator on the Brac, for one thing — zap the medical waste instead of storing it in a rock hole to the east of the Brac dump.
Waste-to-energy, combined with true recycling. We need a glass-crushing machine and certified operators. That’s the only solution. Oh wait, but that might cut into CUC profits, can’t have that.
The Dart solution is a travesty. Surely you all can see that; it moves a dump to lined open pits in a residential district, where the problem can continue to grow out of sight. That is no solution. Build a Trashmore somewhere else. Insanity.
Will a waste-to-energy (WtE) plant be expensive? Oh yeah. Extremely. Is there any other solution that is truly sustainable?
What aspect of the CYB/LYB dumps do you consider well managed? They are a shambles, which is ridiculous considering how small they are. These dumps are low hanging fruit that DEH should be able to fix quickly and manage properly. Instead they are lumped in with the mess in GCM and nothing is being done.
I certainly agree that the incinerators need to be fixed and reactivated. Burying garbage is no solution at all.
It’s taken the PPM over 3 years to tell us what we already knew. Clearly that is Alden’s Ossie’s and Roy’s version of being progressive. Again proving they never had any solutions or intentions to deal with the dump.
Dear God help the Caymans. *face palm*
So after about a decade, four or five sets of consultants with expensive reports, tens of millions of dollars and many promises about a comprehensive management plan what do we get? “Make less rubbish, and do some recycling”. Genius. What about the millions of tonnes already there? Did they notice that? It lights up every now and then so it’s quite hard to miss.
Send in a team with flame throwers and body armour, having previously left the iguana corpses there to rot for a while…the resulting explosion should clear the issue up once and for all.
27/06/2016 at 5:36 pm It will take you along
We compost and we recycle. At least we use to recycle. Now that the government has taken over responsibility for recycling all the collection bins have disappeared and my weekly garbage output has grown enormously. Thank goodness we are still permitted to compost.
Close that stinking dump!
So, will Grand Cayman react the way the Bodden Towners did to receiving Sister Island trash???
OMG a pre-school kid knows that. Why is our government pretending they have the wisdom they don’t!
dart had the free solution….thank you ppm for doing nothing as usual….
Sorry, there is no free lunch. Watch it, or dog will eat your supper.
The Caymanian way is to wait until its free to do anything. Its the island style excuse to do nothing.
Free??? Dart just got even more concessions. Why didnt we just negotiate something in there to deal with the Dump. Its right next to Camana Bay im sure Dart doesnt want it there. There is no Free Lunch here we are already giving up taxes so Dart can continue his developments. There is nothing free here at all.
If only our Governments, past, present and future, would follow this approach in relation to public spending.
All this is pie in the sky, it will never work in Cayman> we will spend tens of millions of dollars and end up where we started. Close the dump and find another location and get the man in charge on top of it from the start so it will be better compacted.