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Commissioner of Public Works Bruce Zagers, recently signed 19 purchase orders for specialized equipment that will be used at the soon to be built recycling plant that will be situated at the landfill in Fort Bay. With the assistance of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment (I&M) the island government has mapped out a long term solution to the issues plaguing the landfill.
Equipment at the new waste processing facility will include a conveyor belt where the various waste streams will be manually sorted. Once sorted, they will be stored until they reach an amount which can be baled. Special machines will be purchased that will be able to compact and bale plastics, cans, paper and tires. A glass crusher will also be at the facility, which will grind the class into sand like particles. There will also be industrial size scales which will be able to weigh the waste before it is shipped off island for more accurate billing.
The air burner which has been used to burn waste up until now will be replaced by a medical grade incinerator which is fueled by diesel. The incinerator burns at a temperature of 850 degrees Celsius and can reach temperatures of up to 1300 degrees. The emissions of the incinerator comply with EU regulations which are among the highest in the world.
The landfill facility itself will be totally reconstructed and there will new buildings constructed, to process, store and burn the remaining non-recyclable waste. These prefab buildings are made of steel, and are built to withstand hurricane force winds.
With this project government will introduce separation of garbage and recycling to the island. Waste will be separated into two different categories dry waste and wet waste. Dry waste will consist of waste streams that are recyclable: water bottles, cans, glass, paper, cardboard as well as small electric appliances. Wet waste is waste which is unable to be recycled such as leftovers from food and other household waste. New garbage containers will also be distributed for the different waste streams.
In the coming months more information will be given to the public, through various media to assist in understanding at- home separation.
My only comment about the Medical Grade Incinerator….Will it have scrubbers on it to kill the toxic fumes that currently continue to plague St. Johns and the two schools. It is sometimes very hard to breath the air when the burning is going on.
I love the fact that we are moving forward but how much did the Gvt. spend on the current burner that we have and we still get toxic fumes. Will there be any ‘Air Quality Monitoring’?
Trust me I am not criticizing….I am just asking the questions that I hope will be answered with this new equipment. Just because it is a higher grade burner does not guarantee that the toxic fumes will be reduced.
Also, are there any plans to harness this burning of waste with a small generator that could produce electricity from the burning of this garbage and the added diesel fuel??? This is what St. Mrtn. and other countries are currently focusing on.
Again…. I applaud the effort …. Now let’s also set up a place to take all the yard waste and bush and soil to make compost instead of paying $6.50 and up for a bag of something we could make here on Saba and help pay for this equipment….