City Hall considers sustainable solid waste disposal facilities

Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine on Monday insisted that the capital city and the country by extension should look at new ways of disposing solid waste, which is currently being dumped at landfills.
During the most recent statutory meeting, the Mayor stated that with the advent of a massive oil and gas sector, sustainability should be the main focus for Guyana.
“We have a site where we dump all our garbage – a landfill. But how long a country, which has one of the most powerful resources – oil and gas, will continue to have landfills in our country?” he stated.
It was indicated that many Caribbean countries have capitalised on studies by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) – of which Guyana is part, to improve solid waste disposal. If the decision is made to establish better disposal facilities in the country, it should be a collective effort with Government and other stakeholders.
“A report was done in 2014, 2015, and 2016 by the IDB and Guyana was part and parcel of that consultancy process…Trinidad made good use of the report, Barbados made good use of the report. I don’t know what Guyana is doing. Solid waste is something that we have to work towards collectively – the Private Sector, the Mayor and City Council, civil society, central government. Solid waste should be a big issue in this country,” the Mayor, who is in charge of such projects but has not implemented any such, said.
Some $253 million had been injected to upgrade the Haags Bosch landfill site at Eccles, East Bank Demerara (EBD), after a fire had erupted there back in 2015. After the fire consumed the site and affected many nearby residents, workers managed to restore the landfill and it has been up and running ever since. New equipment, such as shredders and a tarpaulin deployer, were also installed to assist with innovative waste composting and storage.
The landfill was commissioned in 2011 to replace a similar set-up at Mandela Avenue, 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. (G12)