Cherry agrees to halt operations at Lower Estate Quarry
Anderson Cherry, CEO of Project Recycle Ltd., has agreed to halt operations at the facility he has set up in the Lower Estate Quarry, which has been the source of many recurrent health problems for St. George residents, for some months now.
Roger Craig, a concerned resident whose efforts have seen two town hall meetings being convened to address the ongoing matter, told residents gathered at the second meeting held at the Church of God in Salters, St. George recently, that a team consisting of himself; St. George North Member of Parliament, Gline Clarke; and Attorney-at-Law Dale Marshall, who volunteered to represent the community group, met Mr. Cherry and his attorney at the quarry, earlier this month.
Fuelled by calls from frustrated residents for the quarry to be closed, Craig noted that an agreement was eventually reached, with Cherry agreeing to close his operations there and work over the next six months to clear the quarry while covering any materials that have been burning, to reduce the noxious smoke and offensive smells emanating from the site.
“At this meeting, we reached an agreement and this agreement I believe should be good news to everyone tonight, that the landfill will be closed,” Craig said to loud applause.
“In this agreement, (the Quarry will) accept mould and rock only, which is considered covering material in the landfill. So you all may still see some trucks going into the landfill, but the trucks are only supposed to be carrying cover material, nothing else,” he stressed.
“Outside of this, we have also agreed that all other materials in the landfill, which would be the coconut shells, Tetra Pak (cartons), all the tyres and the other loose stuff that is stored in the Quarry will be removed,” he added.
Pointing out that Mr. Cherry asked for a six-month period which was agreed to, to have all of the materials removed, Craig however added, “Mr. Marshall is assuring us that if this agreement is not honoured, we will proceed to file the documents for an injunction in the court to have the landfill closed.”
St. George North MP, Gline Clarke meanwhile noted, “That agreement took place on the 6th of October and I believe that Mr. Cherry, in showing up here tonight, has shown some faith in the commitment he made – that the covering of dirt, the inert material will continue, but that all green waste, coconut shells and those things that are currently going into the landfill will be stopped.”
As Mr. Clarke opened the floor to hear from residents whether they were still being affected, there were some residents who still registered concerns about smoke, dust and rodents coming from the quarry. Some queried whether the agreement made for a six-month period for clean-up, should not have been shorter.
However, Mr. Cherry sought to assure the group that based on “expert advice” being followed, the smells will soon be gone and the issues rectified.
Towards the close of the meeting, a monitoring committee was however established to ensure Cherry abides by the agreement set. (RSM)