WTE due to open in 2027 a decade after bid
(CNS): The waste-to-energy facility is due to open in 2027, almost a decade after the Dart-led consortium was selected as the preferred bidder in October 2017. In the face of public frustration about how long the talks between the Cayman Islands Government and Dart have taken over the ReGen project, Deputy Chief Officer (Policy) Troy Jacob, from the sustainability Ministry of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency, said at a public meeting on Monday that the lengthy negotiations reflect the complexity of the project and the need to ensure it is a sustainable investment.
The talks are expected to reach financial close sometime in September. The details of the contract and the costs will be shared with the public at that point, Jacob said at the first of a series of public meetings this week, held at the Harquail Theatre, about the Draft Environmental Statement for the project. This was compiled by independent consultants GHD and is now open for public consultation.
Jacob explained that until the WTE becomes operational, the Department of Environmental Health will continue to manage the existing landfill operations and he was confident they would cope with the garbage until then. But he said there was no doubt that the country needed a better waste-management solution to reduce the amount of garbage going into the landfill.
The current project has a target of reducing the amount of rubbish that is dumped by 95%. Jacob also said that in addition to burning most of our waste to create energy, the government would be promoting the concept of reducing what we consume, reusing what we have and recycling what we can. Drafting instructions had been issued for the legislation to ban some single-use plastic products, he noted.
However, the meeting focused on the Environmental Impact Statement based on the terms of reference for the assessment, which were established in October 2021. Overall, the consultants found that, given the significant problems with the unlined landfill and the outdated management of waste at the George Town dump, the new WTE facility and other buildings that will form part of this project will be an improvement.
The document concludes that there will be a net benefit to the environment from the project and a reduction of greenhouse gasses, especially methane. The facility will generate 8.5 megawatts of electricity, which will also reduce the amount of fossil fuels currently being burned by CUC and form part of the policy goal to reach 100% renewable energy generation in Cayman by 2050.
The draft statement found few negative impacts from the proposed project. But while the findings support the project, the document does not make the decision; it merely informs the decision, which will be made by Cabinet.
Throughout the evening, members of the panel explained that the remediation of the landfill, which is currently underway, is the best way of reducing the leeching into the North Sound from the current unlined dump because it will reduce the amount of groundwater running through it. The regeneration work will also gradually reduce the amount of toxic runoff, but the experts said that, even after the old dump is fully capped, the leeching will require continuous monitoring.
An arsenic pit that has been on the site for many years also poses a challenge. The consultants have recommended that it remain in situ with some remediation and capping, allowing the new lined landfill to be placed on top of that legacy problem.
According to the findings, there will be some removal of mangroves but little other negative impact on the natural environment. Although the WTE stacks and the building where the rubbish will be burned will be visible, there will be no heat plumes or black smoke emitting from the combustion of the rubbish. The garbage will not be delivered at night, so there should be little light pollution or any increase in traffic above the current levels, the consultants found.
See the meeting on CIGTV below:
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Environmental Health, Health
There is a comment 31/08/23 at 12:33pm which makes the erroneous declaration that Mount Trashmore is the result of hundreds of years worth of solid waste. The truth is that Mount Trashmore is the result of less than a century’s, closer to 50 or so years worth, of garbage. What is important to recognize is why this mountain of garbage is what it is.
The author of the comment at 12:33pm made reference to directing criticism for this situation to successive governments. They are only partly correct in that regard.
Now, the Cayman Islands is under the subjugation of a contract of colonial construct which specifically puts the interests of the Crown above and beyond the wellbeing and the interests of the Cayman Islands and her people. What is called ‘good governance’ is nothing more than a farce. The dump itself is a toxic and glaringly obvious testament to this untenable equation and the purposefully promulgated inadequacies and contemptuously conceited hypocricies therein.
Here is why:
Cayman has a woefully inadequate system of democratic process and all decision-making processes therein. It is the constricts and the confines within this system which specifically disallows a necessary evolution of democratic processes in order to formulate protections against the wanton abuse which is the status quo of today. It is designed as such, retained as such, and is used and abused as such, in order to allow for the easy manipulation of and the willingly accepted institutional corruption of those who have been given the far too often undeserved remit of responsibility for guiding the trajectory of Cayman for far too long. Accountability is nonexistent. Transparency is hollow rhetoric. The system of governance which Cayman is presently subjugated to is not fit for purpose. It is part of the problem and is not a part of the necessary solutions.
Multiple bouts of governmental maladministration have been subversively and surreptitiously allowed to be insidiously infiltrated and overtly manipulated in order to force the agenda of those who do not care one iota about the damage done to Cayman and its future as a whole as long as their own self-interested agenda is realized. The underhanded “acquisition” of an illegitimate power and/or influence over any and all decision-making processes is what is at the root of the problem here.
It bears mentioning here that the predatorily contrived boondoggle called the “For Cayman Investment Alliance” was deemed by the Auditor General as illegal, and as such, it remains an illegitimate act which elucidates who and what those at the helm of Dart’s operations really are.
Dart has never once deserved one copper ching ching’s worth of “concessions”. Far from it.
The dump, in all of its monolithic toxicity, is just one of many symptomatic debilitating consequences of a system of governance which is not fit for purpose and this WTE project is further proof of such.
The population of Cayman, by ratio, has been exponentially increased in such a manner that no other place or people in this world have seen such a rapid increase and all of the negatively consequential issues which have arisen as a result. The dump itself is just one of many negative consequences which have and will continue to impact the well-being of Grand Cayman as a direct result. The dump is a result of a ‘gold rush’ mentality which those whose short-sighted and purposeful ignoring of foresight chose to let it fester and expand until it became something which was no longer ignorable. Many of “those’ were not even members of the electorate or the LA. No. Instead, they used their financial largesse as a bully’s club to usurp any conceivable interpretation of ‘good governance’, all under the watchful eye of those supposed to be responsible for it.
The question is why? For whom?
Who has all of this so called ‘development’ been for? Caymanians? I think not.
The population boom in Cayman was a direct result of Cayman being turned out as a veritable child prostitute and a satellite pawn for the interests of “The City of London” and none other. This worldwide system of a secretive financial injustice is the gilded chalice of poison which Cayman can ultimately look to as the real reason for the growth of Mount Trashmore into what it is today. None of this has anything to do with sustainability. None of it.
It is this system which has allowed the worst of Cayman’s worst from the inside to collude with the worst of the worst from the outside, and that is the Cayman of today.
Instead of allowing Cayman’s fledgling tourism industry to grow organically and sustainably, thus retaining and protecting a true stakeholdership of said industry for the very people to whom it rightfully belongs, it was allowed to be destroyed by the very same forces of psychotic monopolist’s greed and their insatiable lust for an undeserved and illegitimate power and/or influence over the trajectory of Cayman and its future. As for where to hide the refuse left over from this gold rush mentality, well, that was always an afterthought for those of such divine wisdom that they consider themselves to be forever unassailably honourable or some such other ridiculous tripe.
Never forget the direct collusion between Dart and a certain once wigged pig whose purposeful creation of a welfare state for his own people was implemented in order to mollify those of his own ilk who he has predated upon for the purposes of his own sociopathic political expediencies. They are now and forever inextricably linked. There be the barometer of worthiness and/or the complete and utter lack thereof of either or both.
This boondoggled amalgamation of a supposed public/private WTE partnership is nothing more than a furtherance of the monopolization of Cayman’s already unsustainable and institutionally corrupt economic model.
The dire need for anti-trust/anti-monopoly legislation in Cayman is even more relevant now than it was decades ago. But that will not happen when the monopolist’s tentacles control the harness of Cayman’s trajectory. That in itself is unacceptable and is the antithesis of sustainability within any conceivable realm of cognitive sanity.
As Dart has acquired the ignominious moniker Cayman’s largest developer, then they are by a simple process of deduction Cayman’s largest polluter and largest contributor to the stream of solid waste which Cayman has to contend with.
What Dart deserves is to be charged heavily for their part to play in the creation of and the exacerbated toxicity of inadequacies which Mount Trashmore represents.
Dart does not deserve one singular copper coloured ching ching’s worth of remuneration for having anything to do with the dump, an as of yet unseen plan for any real remediation of the real problem, any WTE operation or any resources or energy which may be gleaned or derived from Cayman’s solid waste stream now or in the future.
Dart is not the solution now. Dart was not the solution then.
Dart is the reason for the profusion of all manner of pollution, then and now.
Most of that for me Monopolly was TLDR, but your last couple of paragraphs struck a chord. In my opinion Dart with its vast development expanse is also affecting the local climate. The ‘Marriott cloud’ has all but become extinct, that cloud band that would form like clockwork over the caymana bay mangroves with a heavy rain most days mid afternoon. Who says what we do here is irrelevant to the global environmental destruction ? ❌☔️☹️
Sus crise brudda.. I had to make AI digest this first. Here’s its TL;DR summary:
“The comment from 31/08/23 at 12:33pm incorrectly claims that Mount Trashmore’s formation is due to hundreds of years of waste accumulation. The truth is that it’s the result of about 50 years of garbage disposal. The root cause of this issue extends beyond successive governments, as the Cayman Islands’ governance is influenced by a colonial contract prioritizing the Crown’s interests over the islands’ wellbeing. The inadequate democratic processes hinder the evolution necessary for effective governance. The dump’s existence highlights this problem and intentional shortcomings.
The Cayman Islands’ governance lacks transparency, accountability, and effectiveness, and it has allowed manipulation of decision-making processes. The “For Cayman Investment Alliance,” criticized by the Auditor General, exemplifies this. Dart’s role and actions in the Cayman Islands have led to negative consequences, including the dump’s growth. The rapid population increase, driven by external interests, contributes to these problems. Cayman’s unsustainable economic model requires anti-trust/anti-monopoly legislation. Dart’s involvement in the dump’s creation and toxicity should result in accountability and not financial remuneration.
In essence, the issue of Mount Trashmore’s formation stems from a complex interplay of governance inadequacies, external influences, and monopolistic practices. Addressing these root causes is crucial to achieving meaningful solutions.”
Hey, if Fukushima can dump its toxic waste into the ocean, why can’t we just bulldoze Mt. Trashmore into the North Sound?
Kidding of course.
You joke but seriously. That dump is probably 0.00000001% of the global crap that ends up in the Ocean.
Dump it into Ocean in a place where the current will take it somewhere else as a one off and you’d have fixed 50 years of neglect in a few months and nobody in the world would actually feel it and it would probably have absolutely no impact on the environment worth noting. In fact, i’d argue it sitting where it is causes more damage to everyone and everything that a one time dump it into the ocean ever would.
Just a thought.
There’s an old saying, that Dilution is the Solution to Pollution. Not saying it applies here necessarily. But maybe the arsenic pit could be excavated, the material put into containers, and dropped in the deep trench ocean.
Built, commissioned and running in 4 years? LOL
And they haven’t even had the financial close yet.
Following this saga between Dart and Government has indeed been a waste of energy.
why can’t they just starting burning the stuff now in a big lead box and then pipe the dirty smoke into the ground?
brilliant
We will (hopefully?) open our WTE plant 10 years after Copenhagen opened theirs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amager_Bakke
Pure fantasy. This thing won’t fire up for another 25 years.
Just as well because we’ll all have to move up onto the top of those man made trash mountains just to stay above water.
Would you like a styrofoam box to sit in until the water rises enough for you to float away? It comes with a red Solo cup and a complimentary lifetime’s supply of koolade spiked with Blackbeard’s rum. I know a guy. Genuinely altruistic philanthropy is his thing.
we only have to do this because of migration to the island so why aren’t the migrants paying for it? This ain’t NYC
Beaumont, what you say, mon?
Incinerating trash might generate thermal fuel for conversion into electricity, but DART intends to sell resulting energy to CUC monopolist and then on again to consumers at full retail pricing. Meanwhile CIG/DEH will be paying DART to run this hustle without any experience in this field. Ignoring the workflow illogic, this is neither green, nor a consumer benefit project, and will result in more GHGE, without any reduction in electricity bills.
You do know that Dart is simply responding to what was put out to tender by CIG, right?
So they admit that leeching will continue and the arsenic pit will remain. As trump would say “A perfect plan” I wonder if any studies have been done on fish from the north sound
Well, unless you want to dig up a few hundred years of waste, properly line the dump and then put the waste back or incinerate it, there’s not much else you can do.
You might wish to direct your criticism to the successive Governments who thought that dumping trash in a big pile would be just fine.
Thats exactly what they should do.Why cant they dig it up and incinerate it.
CNS: This is a note to Monopolly, who wrote in response to Anonymous, not the author of the comment above.
Monopolly, I hope you take this note as constructive criticism, which is my intent. I sometimes delete your comments if they are too long. Generally, your comments would be much stronger if you cut them down by at least two-thirds. As it is, most of them are hard work to wade through, which is a shame as you sometimes have good points to make. But when you use five words when one will do on every single occasion possible, those points get lost in a sprawling word salad.
Also, you’re only impressing the easily impressed if you try to show off a large vocabulary. What is impressive is using the exact right word in the correct context, not surrounded by eight words that mean something similar.
This comment was about 1,000 words. If you said the same thing in about 300, it would be far more interesting.
don’t worry Monopoly, my comments are typically short but will get deleted and rightfully so by CNS because the content is twaddle. 🙂
What the hell has Trump got to do with this? Sad really that you need to reference him to make a totally unconnected point.
Believe it when you see it.
Wow! 2027? Why not next year?
Okay this project is being pushed as the best thing that could happen in Cayman.
Where’s is the list cons? Or nobody cares?
Read the ES, make your comments to the DoE by Sept 7, and hope that the public comments are made public. There are plenty of cons. You should educate yourself by reading, at least the short Non Technical Summary, if you don’t want to wade through the body of the document, not to mention the full 1000 page binder full of charts and diagrams and photographs, with circles and arrows, and a paragraph on the back of each one, explaining what each one is.
You have 3 years to sell your property and move. New can of worms will be open with the completion of WTE. Might as well rename Grand Cayman to the Grandiosely Toxic Cayman, the Caribbean island where people come to get cancer.
unsubstantiated fear mongering
honey child would be proud
‘The garbage will not be delivered at night, so there should be little light pollution or any increase in traffic above the current levels, the consultants found.’
Is this real ? – but in the meantime,
We’ll keep deferring the public transport issue, we’ll stop the importation of vehicles of 7 years or more, we’ll rebuff an EIA and destroy the wetlands for a new highway, we’ll keep 90cc and over scooter/motorcycle import duty prohibitively expensive, but the good news is, we’ll schedule garbage trucks to not impact the traffic problem… unflipping believable
Consistent with the actual achievements Wayne has made to date in terms of sustainability – setting up and staffing a ministry of sustainability, and wearing a lapel pin.
😂
Mate, Heroes square is full of people that have achieved actually nothing of value to the common good.
Each person that has EVER sat in a position of power (regardless of the name MLA, MP blah blah blah) owns a huge responsibility for being so criminally ignorant of their public duties over the last 100 years that they should rip those statues down.
Going to sea and opening a supermarket might be what passes in Cayman for achieving something but when you have condemned everybody that resides here to the lack of sewerage, trash management, public transport, bent duty rules, rampant corruption, less than developing world education, endemic segregation and then sprinkled on top an indentured underclass that are exploited every single day whilst being completely disenfranchised from the society they live then every single politician for the last 100 years should hang their heads in shame and so should anybody that celebrates them.
Good men and women on these Islands have a constant uphill battle against a political class that simply does not care about it’s people, actively scheme against the greater good and deliberately try to reinvent the wheel whilst ignoring established solutions to every problem these Islands have ever had.
It ain’t just Wayne, it’s every single politician before him, every one of their entourage and relatives.
you don’t know what you’re talking about 12:11, these people are ‘Honourable’ – they declared so themselves
Sadly, the first and highest duty of a politician, in any country, is to ensure that they are re-elected. Constituents’ interests be damned. But here, where only a handful of votes will decide the winner of each election, constituents, often family members, are in a difficult position especially when the pool of talent is restricted to Caymanians who are of a political bent. There are many well educated highly intelligent Caymanians but they are smart enough to stay out of politricks. I don’t have an answer, I only have facts, opinions and questions. Answers are above my pay grade.
The draft statement found few negative impacts from the proposed project. But while the findings support the project, the document does not make the decision; it merely informs the decision, which will be made by Cabinet.
So Spendy B will use his leverage and go for the most expensive option again despite Wayno spouting he wants budget cuts, – got it
Regardless of what is being burned (mixed municipal solid waste, plastic, outputs from “chemical recycling”), waste incineration creates and/or releases harmful chemicals and pollutants, including:
Air pollutants such as particulate matter, which cause lung and heart diseases
Heavy metals such as lead and mercury, which cause neurological diseases
Toxic chemicals, such as PFAS and dioxins, which cause cancer and other health problems
These chemicals and pollutants enter the air, water and food supply near incinerators and get into people’s bodies when they breathe, drink, and eat contaminants.
Please read the draft ES. I have. And then make comments. Members of the public should make their voices heard.
have fun going to CIS or living anywhere nearby.
If you are concerned about the health of your progeny at CIS, or even the altruistic hopes for the health of future generations, you should read the report and comment. Don’t put your head in the sand like an ostrich and hope for the best.
google scrubbers and shut off consumption of fear propaganda
https://www.nrdc.org/bio/daniel-rosenberg/burned-why-waste-incineration-harmful#:~:text=Regardless%20of%20what%20is%20being,cause%20lung%20and%20heart%20diseases