The temporary holding site at the Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill is now accepting waste from Georgetown and the East Bank of Demerara, while garbage from the East Coast will continue to be collected at the Lusignan Landfill.
This is according to Project Director of the Georgetown Solid Waste Management Programme Gordon Gilkes, who told Stabroek News that although the fire at the Haags Bosch site is under control there are still pockets of smoke emanating from the pile. The fire had been burning since December 20, 2015.
“The taskforce, including the Guyana Fire Service and the contractor [BK International], is working together to completely douse the fire. Right now, we are mobilising several more pumps so that we can attack the fire from several directions simultaneously. We have two pumps working right now but we are seeking more,” Gilkes said.
The fire, which consumed approximately 12 hectares of garbage, saw the Haags Bosch site being shut down and garbage trucks being redirected to the Lusignan Landfill. The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) of Georgetown had additionally established a temporary landfill in the Le Repentir Cemetery to cater for refuse generated from the markets in the city during the Christmas season. This decision was reversed after Stabroek News reported that all the garbage from the East Coast, Georgetown and the East Bank of Demerara was being dumped at Le Repentir as a result of the poor condition of the Lusignan main road, which rendered the site there inaccessible.
After a meeting last Tuesday between representatives of the Ministry of Communities and the M&CC, a decision was taken to open a temporary holding site at Haags Bosch and repair the Lusignan main road.
Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson had told Stabroek News last Thursday that the repairs to the Lusignan road were expected to cost in excess of $60M.
Meanwhile, the government and the contractor disagree about the cause of the fire.
Haags Bosch Site Manager Lloyd Stanton had told Stabroek News the fire was “no one’s fault,” but the government disagrees.
Last Monday, Stanton, who is employed by the contractor BK International, had told Stabroek News that landfill fill fires are not unusual. “They happen regularly because of biological activity, such as decomposition, which generates heat. This activity plus readily available fuel, that is, landfill waste, makes the site combustible. The most we can do is prevent oxygen from getting to the areas and work to efficiently douse any fires which may develop. It’s not anyone’s fault that a fire started,” he said.
However, the Ministry of Communities subsequently said in a press statement that the contractor was “unable to extinguish the blaze, which started on the evening of Sunday, December 20, 2015… primarily because the contractor did not adhere to the Operations Management Require-ments as stipulated under Section 15.6 of the signed agreement regarding fire prevention and firefighting.”
The ministry noted that it was not surprised that a fire had developed. It said that it was as a result of the burning of disposed unsorted waste caused by “poor management techniques and inadequate security measures, among others employed by the contractor.”
“The aforementioned factors together with the landfill not being vented and the failure to provide daily earth cover have contributed to the significant build up of methane gas; which when ignited continues to burn in an uncontrollable manner,” the ministry added.
The management of the Haags Bosch site is currently engaging the attention of the courts as the government of Guyana is appealing a ruling made by former acting Chief Justice Ian Chang that the termination of a contract awarded to BK International to construct and manage the Haags Bosch landfill site at Eccles was hasty and unfair.
Even as the government continues to work to remove the contractor both Minster of Communities Ronald Bulkan and Patterson have assured Stabroek News that the legal proceedings will not affect the proper handling of the “emergency.”
Bulkan had explained that the government was working with the contractor to create access to a second cell at the facility to allow for the creation of a temporary holding site for refuse from Georgetown and the East Bank.
This site, however, will not be managed by BK International; rather, its operations will be overseen by the taskforce.
“The Ministry of Infrastructure, Ministry of Communities, National Drainage and Irrigation Authority and Mayor and City Council will be responsible for the daily operation of the site,” Gilkes explained.
Stabroek News understands that Engineering Consultant to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure Walter Willis will be the point man on this project.
Willis had previously managed the Haags Bosch site until he was dismissed in November, 2012.
