Effective Solid Waste Management stakes are high

Dear Editor,

It is heartening to see efforts by Director Walter Narine and team of the Mayor and City Council’s Department of Solid Waste. The department has conceptualised a compost project, that if actualised, could be monetised and become an additional revenue stream for the municipality while playing a huge role in the holistic health of our environment.

More recently, Narine and team at our recent municipal health fair demonstrated the positive effects of waste separation by converting organic waste into fertilisers through a simple composting mechanism; hoped to be rolled out to primary schools in the city shortly. The department’s offering at the fair included a bio-digester, and mats made from plastic bags.

These efforts underline the importance of Government’s draft strategy, “Putting Waste In Its Place: A National Integrated Solid Waste Management Strategy for the Cooperative Republic of Guyana 2017- 2030”. I had offered, in these pages, that that strategy is comprehensive, and in our transition to a green economy signals the need for a holistic approach to solid waste management; the Strategy is in depth and breadth what it is in coherence and eloquence.

Additionally, what will be vital to the sustainability of this integrative approach will be its evaluation and monitoring not only in a Solid Waste Management Authority in coordinating the implementation but also in performance evaluation that is fact based and real-time, which makes use the technological tools at our disposal. This management process must be data, software driven.

The high cost and increase in solid waste are in keeping with global trends and underscored dire need for interventions at all levels.

Two important issues to be pursued on the legislative end will be endowing the city with its own municipal court for the redress of such local issues and also the remitting of fines to the municipality which goes in tandem with the costs associated with successfully prosecuting such infractions, though in the case of the former there might be a disincentive to pursue this as, for example, fines for litter related offences only amounted to $362,000 over the last year which would be far below the cost of prosecutions, administration and management of such a system.

As levels of consumption increase, more attention is being place on solid waste management globally. According to an online article, “Report: Solid waste issues more frequent topic for local governments”, which based its content on a US ‘Waste Alert Report’, “which analysed 1699 agendas and minutes from 807 meetings – solid waste or recycling issues came up in 26 per cent of local government meetings during the first quarter of 2017. This information came from municipal, borough and county meetings across 16 largely Western states.”

“The report shows that the most common instances were about financial issues, followed by future planning for facilities and infrastructure and then direct mentions of companies – often relating to franchises. Changes to contracts or regulations were also common themes.”

In effective and efficient Solid Waste Management the stakes are high; the threat to human life and the environment is real in every regard. Standing by and doing nothing is not an option. Yet there is a dire need for our collective strategies to be grounded in reality and as an anchor underlying the national Strategy’s myriad features will be the efficiencies in the coherent interaction of system processes. As a local government Councillor, it is my hope that we can bring a rich and robust discussion of this issue to councils across our country, discussions that lead to meaningful action.

Sincerely,

Sherod Avery Duncan

Councillor, Constitutency 14