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From:TheBahamasWeekly.com Community
More Workers Needed As Some 200 Truckloads Of Debris Collected Daily At Spring City Site Abaco, Bahamas, February 17, 2020—Two Abaco-based companies contracted by the Government of The Bahamas for post Hurricane Dorian restoration have teamed up to operate the Debris Management Site at Spring City. Principals Deshon Kemp of J & G Pavers and Shannon Albury of Big Cat formed a joint partnership to facilitate ongoing cleanup and debris site management on the ground in Abaco. The companies were among several firms awarded contracts by the Ministry of Public Works to begin the massive task of clearing key areas after the catastrophic storm hit the island in early September 2019. J & G Pavers and Big Cat were selected based on their local experience and their ability to quickly mobilize heavy-duty equipment to begin the cleanup process. Over the past five months, both J & G Pavers and Big Cat have worked closely with the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Environment and Housing and other agencies including United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as progress continues in Abaco. To date, their efforts have focused on demolishing, clearing, cleaning and fencing areas including the shantytowns in Sand Bank 1 and Sand Bank 2 near Treasure Cay and select portions of Marsh Harbour.
As a part of this new partnership, J & G Pavers and Big Cat are pooling resources, expertise and manpower to operate the Spring City debris management site. The focus will be on monitoring activity, recording key data points, geo-tagging items on intake, securing the facilities and processing debris. Currently at the Spring City site workers receive approximately 185 – 200 truckloads of debris daily. The site will eventually manage additional debris barged in from the surrounding cays. Unlike laydown sites where debris is mashed down, pushed into piles and burned, debris management sites assess items on arrival and use machinery and manpower to sort debris based on specific categories including appliances, electronics, furniture, yard waste, hazardous materials and concrete, rock or rubble. The teams at J & G Pavers and Big Cat will continue to work with agencies on the ground to raise awareness among contractors and residents on the proper ways of sorting debris prior to having items trucked to the Spring City site. At present, 90% of the debris arriving on site needs to be sorted.
The Ministry of Environment and Housing is scheduled to provide training for site workers managing debris. Spring City site workers will also receive additional safety and environmental training on site. An additional 20 acres of land is being cleared to accommodate the debris from across the island and cays. More workers are needed on the ground to continue to sort and process debris as the island works towards a full recovery. The joint venture launched a new employment campaign encouraging Abaconians to return home to be a part of the rebuilding process. It is anticipated that the recovery period will be extensive and clean up sites like the one at Spring City will allow individuals who are starting over to have a level of financial stability. The projects also help to strengthen the local economy in Abaco. Persons interested in working at the Spring City Debris Management Site can submit their application by emailing jgpavershr@gmail.com.
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