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EFFECTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT IS A COMMUNITY EFFORT WE ARE ALL INVOLVED |
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Friday, 15 June 2007 |
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Page 6 of 7
 MR. CLAUDIUS HYACINTH, LAND FILL MANAGER
WHERE THE ACTUAL WASTE IS MANAGED-NO CHALLENGE TOO GREAT WHEN YOU’RE ON THE RIGHT PATH
Land filling is not the
most advanced and effective
method of waste management
that exists but it
is what we have here in
Grenada for now and is a
significant improvement
over the old method of
open bumping.
The Acting Manager of the
Grenada Solid Waste Management
Authority’s land fill
is Mr. Claudius Hyacinth and
he is dedicated to ensuring
that the land fill operates in
the most effective and efficient
manner.
Comparing the old method
with what is presently being
practiced Hyacinth said when
the GSWMA was established
10 years ago one of the things
it inherited from the Ministry
of Health was the crude practice
of waste disposal which
placed many challenges on
the management and attendants
at the disposal site.
There was easy access to the
site by the public which
resulted in scavenging from
the dump, there were frequent
fires; equipment used
were defective and outdated
resulting in frequent down
periods and garbage pile-ups;
staff morale was generally
low and there were quite a
number of inefficiencies in
disposal operations.
With the coming into being of
the GSWMA Hyacinth said
there were swift moves to
bring a greater level of professionalism
and efficiency to
the operations, one of the first
being the construction of land
fills.
He said the new facility’s
waste is now protected from
public access, thus curbing
the practice of salvaging by
pickers. New facilities available
to staff makes for a better
working environment and
has served to significantly
improve their general morale
and foster a greater commitment
towards getting things
done.
The manager said the new
system of operations also
brought with it a more reliable
means of making the
right tools of the trade readily
available to the staff.
The procurement of heavy
equipment and the formulation
and implementation of a
maintenance program has
brought much needed efficiency
in the area of heavy
equipment operations on the
sites with a significant drop
in down times.
He said accidental fires were
also a common feature and
while there was one as
recently as 2005 which lingered
for quite some time
there has been a marked
decrease in these occurrences.
Hyacinth said the purchase of
other supporting equipment
aimed at waste reduction has
also served to boost up operations
at the land fill. These
include the wood chipper, and
the metal bailer which has
helped to significantly reduce
the quantity of metal being
land filled such as galvanize,
bulky items and vehicle
shells and parts.
The tire shredder when it
goes into operation will curb
the problems of storage space
for the hundreds of tires
deposited at the site per
month.
Asked about his greatest
challenge in land fill management
Hyacinth said while
they are operating three sites
at Perseverance there is still
the problem of finding space
for waste disposal. There is
also the problem of in-adherence
on the part of some
waste haulers to follow directions
for tipping which sometimes
resulted in blockage of
access to disposal points by
other waste haulers and the
creation of soggy land fill conditions.
Another problem, he said had
to do with illegal entry to and
deposits of certain waste
types at the site. The manager
said this was especially
common on the temporary
site which was established for
hurricane Ivan derived
debris.
While there were special
areas demarcated for certain
waste types, persons entering
the site illegally often disposed
any material at any
location on the site making it
difficult to manage. This
practice resulted in frequent
spills along the Western Main
Road.
Hyacinth said with appropriate
fencing, the erection of
gates and the presence of
security after closure the
problem was arrested to a
great extent.
One of the greatest challenges
though, according to
Hyacinth was coping with the
huge quantities of waste
emerging out of the passage
of Hurricanes Ivan and
Emily.
With already limited space
managing hurricane derived
debris and construction and
demolition waste on the temporary
site proved quite a
task for all staff.
There were huge volumes of
every type and category of
waste being brought to the
site with the problem compounded
by the putting out of
commission of the old disposal
site due to a fire. Heavy
showers also caused land
slippage inside the first working
cell of the new land fill,
putting that facility out of
commission.
Despite all these challenge
Hyacinth believes that with
the direction the authority is
taking to implement certain
programs to cut down on the
waste stream through diversion/
recycling initiatives we
can only see positives emerging.
He said with the current
drive of the authority and the
will to always seek to improve
on its operations and to get
the cooperation of the general
public, success will come.
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