From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
DNA: Cleaning up the City Dump
By Branville McCartney Leader, Democratic National Alliance (DNA)
Mar 13, 2014 - 12:54:03 PM
For the past few days,
residents living near the local landfill have been subjected to toxic fumes and
heavy plumes of thick black smoke as a result of multiple long burning fires at
that site.
Unfortunately for
residents living in the area, this is nothing new. For years, successive
administrations have pledged to address the multitude of concerns that exist
surrounding the landfill. Instead, those promises have turned out to be nothing
more than political rhetoric, as residents continue to be exposed to what can
only be described as a toxic time bomb waiting to explode.
In its Charter for Governance,
this PLP administration bemoaned what it called a careless attitude in the
fight to safeguard the environment. However since taking office two years ago,
they have seemingly adopted the very course of action which the party lamented
while in opposition.
While the dump burns, we
have a Government and persons from the Environmental Health Department whose
only advice to suffering residents is visit your nearest clinic! We have a Government
who has yet to lay out a concrete plan to properly address this island’s
chronic waste management issues. We have a Government who, rather than focusing
its efforts on the myriad of environmental issues now plaguing our beautiful
country, its main concern is with a botched referendum, traveling without
result and legacy.
Recent media reports have
suggested that these most recent fires may be the work of arsonists. What
security measures, if any, does this administration propose to prevent what is
clearly becoming a trend? Certainly the reaction of the nation’s governmental
leaders on this issue leaves much to be desired.
In light of the frequency
and severity of landfill fires here in the capital in recent months, The
Democratic National Alliance is led to question whether or not the government
is in fact overseeing the proper management of that site.
The ineptitude surrounding
the management of the landfill is not limited to this administration however;
while in office under the former FNM administration, I spoke personally with
the party’s leadership in an attempt to facilitate some level of action. My
concerns were, for the most part dismissed, as they apparently did not line up
with the agenda of the moment.
The local landfill, which
covers hundreds of acres, consists primarily of two disposal sites known as
cells. These cells are further separated to accommodate household garbage and
waste, as well as construction and demolition waste. Both waste streams include
toxic materials like used oil, batteries, pesticides, paints, and solvents. On
any given day, huge quantities of used tires are also piled up in a separate area,
along with other forms of debris.
The decomposition of
these various forms of waste, produce large amounts of gas which can, without
proper ventilation, spark fires which burn uncontrollably beneath the surface
for days at a time. The resulting fumes represent a huge threat both to the
environment, and to human health; containing dangerous chemicals like mercury
and dioxin which have been linked to respiratory distress, gene mutation, and
even damage to the body’s reproductive tissue.
The truth is that while
garbage never really goes away, there are alternatives to the current method of
waste disposal; the government is not without recourse.
Experts see
waste-to-energy facilities as the only viable large-scale alternative to
landfills. And in a small island state like the Bahamas, the ability to
generate electricity from our waste stream is a major bonus. An even greater
bonus would be removing waste disposal from the national budget.
By the government’s own
admission it has received any number of proposals designed to take advantage of
the many advancements in the area of waste to energy conversion. Those
proposals which essentially call for the privatization of the solid waste
management would seek to integrate local waste disposal firms into some form of
public-private partnership; reducing the reliance on costly fossil fuels while
getting a handle on our critical solid waste problem. So far however, both
administrations have allowed these proposals to gather dust while residents are
forced to live through unhealthy conditions.
As a resident of one of
the communities directly affected by the ongoing mismanagement of the city
landfill, I call on the government to act on behalf its people and take immediate
steps to address the problem in the interest of public health and safety.
To date the Government
past and present have been negligent in its duties in allowing this facility to
continue to be in this state. Consequently, this has resulted in a multitude of
health issues for residents, damage to the environment, damage our tourist
industry, closure of businesses and damage to property. Perhaps a class action suit
against the Government will get their attention to act in protecting our
environment and the Bahamian people!
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