Prime Minister the Right Hon. Perry G. Christie unveils the plaque officially opening the Renew Bahamas Materials Recycling Facility, the Government-owned compound on Harold Road. The ceremony was held on the site on Thursday, May 28. Pictured L-R: President and CEO, Renew Bahamas, Mr. Gerhard Beukes and Mrs. Beukes; Mrs. Bernadette Christie and Prime Minister Christie. (BIS Photo/Peter Ramsay)
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NASSAU, The Bahamas – The Government of The
Bahamas is now in a position to save over $6 million annually after divesting
its waste management programme to Renew Bahamas. Prime Minister, the Right Hon. Perry G.
Christie said that the government’s decision to outsource waste management to
the private enterprise has been a positive move, which will save taxpayers
millions of dollars annually.
During the official launch of the Renew
Bahamas Materials Recycling Facility on Thursday, May 28, Mr. Christie said
that he was ‘elated that the government no longer has this bill to pay.’
“This is a wonderful day for our country,”
said Mr. Christie. “The way to future prosperity is when governments can
participate in public-private partnerships such as this one, which means that
expenses that were formerly borne by the government fall in the hands of the
private sector.”
Mr. Christie said that since Renew Bahamas
took over the landfill on Harold Road (locally known as the ‘Dump’), several
positive changes have occurred including fewer fires, enhanced security
measures and the creation of ‘green jobs.’
Minister for the Environment, the Hon.
Kendred Dorsette said that the Bahamas is now in the business of recycling with
a recycling plant that is a first of its kind in the region.
Both Minister of the Environment,Kendred Dorsett and Prime Minister Christie spoke at the opening on the site on Thursday, May 28. (BIS Photos/Peter Ramsay)
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The recycling plant will process up to 80 tons
of residential and commercial waste per hour, positioning the Bahamas as a
regional leader in waste management.
President and CEO of Renew Bahamas Gerhard
Beukes said there have been many challenges associated with bringing plans to
fruition but he was optimistic about the future of his company. He said that he
was most grateful for the support that he has received from the government and
the 85 employees working at the plant.
Renew Bahamas is waste management company
with the objective to minimize the amount of waste that ends up in landfill by
transforming it into valuable resources wherever possible. The company was
contracted by government in January of 2014 to manage and operate the nation’s
largest landfill.
Each year, the Island of New Providence
produces over 500,000 tons of solid waste. Of this amount, households produce
around 190,000 tons, with the remainder coming from a variety of other
municipal, commercial, industrial, construction & demolition sources. The
average household in the Bahamas disposes of 1,500 pounds of waste annually.
(The average is 1,600 pounds in the United States). This is the equivalent of
disposing four pounds of sugar daily.
The bulk of this waste is currently disposed
of at the landfill, despite containing a number of potentially valuable
materials. Consequently, Renew Bahamas developed this new Materials Recycling
Facility (MRF) at the Government’s Harold Road Site in New Providence to help
sort and separate the incoming waste into high quality recovered materials.
The first MRF’s in North America were built
in the 1970’s but their importance was not felt until the past few decades with
the increase in the price of commodities and with the increase in the global
awareness to safeguard the world’s resources.
