Work at Lower Estate Quarry being monitored

The Monitoring Committee of the St. George North-Western Community Group will be keeping an eye on the “additional work” to be carried out at the Lower Estate Quarry by Project Recycle Limited, to give affected residents an ease from the pungent odours emanating from that dump site.

Roger Craigg, spokesman for the St. George North-Western Community Group (SGNWCG) issued a press release on behalf of the group recently, giving further details to the matter at hand.

“On Saturday April 7th 2018, the Monitoring Committee, setup to lead the community effort against the ongoing air pollution issues caused by the landfill operated by Project Recycle Limited at Lower Estate, met with the principals of the company. During the meeting, Project Recycle Ltd acknowledged that due to their inability to stop the ongoing combustion at the site, their efforts to date have not eliminated the toxic, foul odors emerging from the landfill,” the release indicated.

“Project Recycle Ltd. then committed to the Monitoring Committee and by extension the wider community, that they will be engaging in additional works, with their primary goal being the elimination of the air pollution issues ‘within a few weeks’,” it continued.

The additional works as stated by Project Recycle include; one, applying a thicker layer of inert materials to cover “flare up” areas, particularly where green waste was previously stored and had the thinnest layer of cover applied; two, using sea water injected at the correct application rate, to attempt to permanently stop the combustion that continues under the initial cover that was applied to other areas of the quarry and; three, the removal of tyres, metals and white goods such as fridges, freezers etc. from the quarry.

“These activities are to commence on April 9th, 2018 in accordance they say, with recommendations made by stakeholders including the Ministry of Health and the Barbados Fire Service. It was communicated to the Monitoring Committee that within a week or two, there should be a noticeable improvement to the air quality and a reduction in pungent odors coming from the site of the landfill,” the Monitoring Committee added.

The Committee also pointed out that at its meeting held on April 8th 2018, a consensus was reached that the Committee will closely monitor the ongoing works and reserve decisions on the next course of action, until after the two weeks have elapsed, given that in the past six months, Project Recycle has not demonstrated an ability to handle the crisis that it created.

“It remains the view of the Monitoring Committee and its advisors that the only permanent solution to the environmental crisis caused by the Project Recycle landfill, will be to remove all materials from the quarry and return it to its former state prior to the commencement of the landfill operation and for Project Recycle in the mean-time, to ensure that no “Green-waste or Organic materials,” are brought into the quarry” the Committee maintained.

The Committee has also suggested that Project Recycle, (which is headed by Mr. Anderson Cherry), “should seek, at their cost, external assistance and pay for an independent entity to test the air quality that the community is being exposed to”.