Plans to eliminate
landfill by 2010
~ Wall to keep out fire-starting scavengers for now ~
POND ISLAND--Four multi-national companies have been selected to submit proposals to government to clean up the Philipsburg landfill, design and build a waste reduction/processing facility that would eliminate the need for the dump by 2010.
A call for expressions of interest was advertised by government in February and garnered 10 responses from companies based in the United States, Germany, France and Israel, among other countries.
Only two companies in France, one in the Netherlands and one in the United States met all the requirements set out by government and are now being evaluated by the Department of Environmental Development and Property Management.
Responding to queries from the community about what government intends to do about the “burning dump,” Department of Environmental Development and Property Management Head Joseph Dollison, Head of Maintenance Claudius Buncamper and
Department Advisor Sipke de Haan told the press Wednesday that a number of steps were being taken behind the scenes, including the push to find a company for the waste reduction project.
Environmental Affairs Commissioner Theo Heyliger, who is currently off-island for medical reasons, has said solving the landfill issue is high on his priority list, as it has been a nuisance to residents for too long.
A group of concerned residents recently started a petition online to lobby government to find a solution for the landfill. With this in mind, Heyliger said that while the department had been toiling behind the scenes to tackle the problem, it was good to give an insight into what was going on.
An advice on which company is best suited to develop a waste reduction system for the island will be submitted by the department to the Executive Council for approval after an information meeting slated for next month.
The companies will be asked to come up with a design/own/operate plan for the waste-processing facility that would reduce the island’s garbage pile up by 95 per cent. This formula will eliminate the need for government to find funding for the project, while government’s option to buy the plant would be included in the contract.
The entire process to have the facility designed, built and running will take about the next 18 months. The aim is to have it on line by the end of 2010. Once it is running, a portion of the mountain of garbage visible from Philipsburg will slowly disappear every year as the stockpile is mined and processed.
Dealing specifically with the fires that have erupted in the past months, Buncamper said all evidence pointed to these being set wilfully as scavengers collected metals from the dump to sell. All the fires have been in the new section of the landfill, access to which is not blocked off. A wall will be constructed in this area soon.
Guards are stationed at the landfill, but the area is too large to be patrolled at all times. Buncamper said the general public also had a role to play in curbing the fires, by reporting any suspicious activity around the dump. He pointed out that while people might not want to become involved, it must be remembered that landfill fires ultimately cost the tax payers.
To complete the circle of waste disposal, a new garbage collection system is being designed and will be ready for tender soon. A system to streamline the collection was designed more than three years ago, but turned out to be too costly and priced small local contractors out of the running.
Heyliger, with the backing of the Executive Council, has enlisted the help of R.W. Becks of Miami to development a specialised plan for the island. The groundwork in the districts to gather the necessary data is ongoing.
