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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
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Company Receives International Endorsement
Nassau, Bahamas - Renew Bahamas officially launched its brand new state-of-the-art Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) Thursday, marking the beginning of a new era in waste management in The Bahamas.
Prime Minister The Rt. Hon. Perry Christie officially commissioned the new facility - the first of its kind for the country.
The new MRF and associated infrastructure was constructed at a total cost of seven million dollars.
The multi-faceted, 125,000 sq. ft. plant will process up to 80 tonnes per hour of residential and commercial waste; showcasing the Bahamas as a regional leader in the field of waste management.
Renew Bahamas President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gerhard Beukes said the construction of the MRF represents a major step forward for the country.
“What we are doing has not been done at this scale anywhere in the country or in the region,” Mr. Beukes said.
“We can now say The Bahamas is an exporter of recyclate materials, which are being sold to customers on the global scene. It is also the start of our efforts to substantially reduce the negative environmental footprint of these troubled lands,” he added.
By recycling and recovering value from materials, especially combustible materials such as cardboard and plastic that were previously being disposed of to landfill, it will lessen the potential for future fires at the adjacent landfill site.
Renew Bahamas also received international endorsement from Peter Wang, President & CEO of America Chung Nam (ACN), who said the construction of the multimillion dollar state-of-the-art facility sends a resounding international statement, that there is now a sustainable waste solution for the Bahamas.
“We feel fortunate to work closely with Renew Bahamas as the first company in the Caribbean to organize the waste industry, unlocking significant amounts of available resources and converting them into products at an international standard,” Mr. Wang said.
“That requires a vision, a clear focus, and a lot of hard work and technical know-how. We have been very impressed with the result, and with the quality of the recovered paper that was shipped to us.”
Canadian manufacturer Machinex Industries Inc. partnered with Renew Bahamas in designing and installing the new facility, which took four months to complete.
Jonathan Menard, Project Director at Machinex Group said “Renew Bahamas has been a great partner in this venture and we were sincerely impressed from day one by the vision, the skills and the unity of the Renew Bahamas group.”
“Installing the first state-of-the-art MRF in the Caribbean Islands came with a number of challenges but, as a team, Machinex and Renew Bahamas demonstrated that the proposed model could work and that it could be reproduced elsewhere within the Caribbean Islands. This project is another strong example of Machinex’ capability to export and develop the international waste management market outside of the success the company has in North America and the United Kingdom,” Mr. Menard said.
The new state-of-the-art plant features innovative sorting and baling technologies and will be manned on a continuous basis with a staff of about 50 people at any one time. The plant is expected to reduce future waste, with a number of other prospects for improvement being explored.
Renew Bahamas assumed operational management of the New Providence landfill in May in 2014. The company employs 85 people and expects to hire an additional 50 people by summer.
© Copyright 2015 by thebahamasweekly.com
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