$253M upgraded Haags Bosch landfill to benefit commercial stakeholders

…obtains new equipment to aid composting

The Communities Ministry recently expended some $253 million to upgrade the Haags Bosch landfill site at Eccles, East Bank Demerara, and legislation is soon to be enacted to benefit its commercial stakeholders.

Speaking to media operatives on Monday during a visit to the area, Site Supervisor for the Communities Ministry, Lloyd Stanton, explained that the Solid Waste Management Strategy is currently at the last stages of being finalised. This will lead to the process of legislation being enacted, after which the Haags Bosch landfill site would be ready to welcome commercial stakeholders.
“In terms of whether or not we will get to (the stage of) people paying (for the collection of their refuse), the answer is yes. We’re hoping to get ‘the strategies’. For those of us who are au fait with what’s going on as it relates to waste management, we’re in the process of finalising that Solid Waste Management Strategy, and as soon as we get that ‘strategy’, then we can go to legislation. As soon as that legislation comes in place, there will be a phased system of payments, probably starting with commercial,” he explained.
The contract, which was awarded in April of 2018, initiated from steps to rehabilitate the dumpsite after a fire had erupted there back in 2015. The landfill was commissioned in 2011 to replace a similar setup at Mandela, Georgetown, which used to pollute areas of the city that are contiguous to the dumpsite. The Haags Bosch landfill site has since served as the main disposal site for solid waste.

While giving a synopsis of the current operations, Stanton noted that the site caters for 12 metres of landfill waste with an additional 3 metres underground. However, as the need progresses, interventions can be made for the waste to be piled at an increased height. As of now, monthly operational costs are pegged are some $21 million.
“When the entire area is 15 metres, we can still go up further if we don’t have space. There is a relative limit that is set by the supervisors and operators at the site,” Stanton explained.
According to him, if the waste is piled higher, there are chances that a garbage slide can occur. This can be prevented by maintaining a relative slope.
“We’re okay right now. We’ve never had a garbage slide, but there was a fire in 2015 which everybody know about,” he said.
The workers on site are subjected to regular medical evaluation to reduce the risk of fatalities occurring at the landfill site. On a yearly basis, only approximately two cases of health complications are reported, which is a noteworthy sign.
“The direct safety, in terms of personal safety, is among the areas that we’re trying to improve on…If we were to be graded based on Third World (standards), we’re around 95 per cent,” said Stanton.
One principal equipment recently obtained by the contracted company, Waste Solutions Landfill Incorporated, to assist with the composting is a tarpaulin-deployer. The machine covers the compost material at the end of the day, eliminating the need to place soil over the collected garbage, and increasing the volume of waste that can be stored.
“Over the years, we used to use soil as a daily cover, and we’ve realised that the daily cover used to be placed in such a way that we would place a layer of soil at about 12 inches. We realised that we’re losing valuable airspace that garbage can go in,” Stanton explained. (Rupadai Seenaraine)