ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AT COOK’S LANDFILL – TIME FOR REAL SERIOUS ACTION
The Cook’s Landfill continues to be a serious health hazard to the residents of the St. John’s Rural West Constituency.
Everything goes to the landfill including raw sewage. There is pollution of ground and surface water. The nearby mangrove is already contaminated and the contamination makes its way to the sea.
Take a look at the environmental degradation caused by the longstanding neglect of the Cook’s Landfill. How long must we continue to suffer? We need action now! We are tired of the promises.
We, the residents of Five Islands, Hatton, and Denfields are constantly exposed to the health hazards emanating from the landfill. This has reached a breaking point and it is time for real solutions.
The decision to relocate the Five Islands Primary School closer to the landfill, and the increased threat to our health & safety are even more reasons for the issues to be expeditiously addressed.
It is encouraging that the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda has discussed the issue and promised to address some of the problems. However, promises have been made before and very little action taken. We need action now!
The following issues continue to plague the operation of the landfill:
- There is a serious shortage of technical staff. There is reactive management rather than being proactive.
- The landfill is more overwhelmed than ever before.
- Standard procedures are often ignored. This includes failing to cover landfill waste with soil at the end of the workday. As a matter of fact, not enough soil is provided to cover the waste.
- Staff members are suffering with inadequate equipment, and are not being provided with the training they require to address the deteriorating situation.
- There are serious waste compaction issues.
- There is very little waste separation, if any. Everything, including combustibles and raw sewage, goes to the landfill. Waste separation should ideally start at the producers of the waste.
- There is no tyre shredder at the landfill.
Until a tyre shredder can be commissioned, the tyres should be placed in small separated piles, with a trench surrounding each pile to prevent the spreading of fire.
I urge NSWMA to implement a proper Waste Diversion Plan and Policy, to ensure constant health hazards and operational issues become a thing of the past.
Video clips credit to Mr. Lionel Michael.
Richard S. Lewis MP
Rural West to the Bone
Homegrown
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Didn’t Gaston Browne in recent times inform Antiguans to keep where they reside clean and tidy?
So with these important instructions to us in mind, shouldn’t the Prime Minister do likewise at Cook’s Landfill as the keeper of the country’s purse strings?
This place has been a mess under his watch – just like St John’s. Tek pride in Antigua nah!
NOTHING IS EVER HE FAULT…
@ Richard S. Lewis MP,
You are very modest with your assessment to describe the current situation as a crisis.
A crisis in this case is a severe, unstable situation that threatens important goals or systems and demands urgent decisions;
while a disaster is a major damaging event that seriously disrupts normal life and overwhelms local capacity and will result in long term consequences: both health and entertainment.
THIS IS A DISASTER !!!
The Cabinet refers to it as a recent environmental incident. It illustrates the lacking the ability recognize the gravity of the situation.
The deflection, empty rhetoric and promises will follow; as the environment is permanently damaged beyond restoration.
With the volatile organisms leaching into the soil, groundwater and bay. It is so sad, and it hurts.
Until the political system changes from one of tut for tat and focus on policy we are likely to experience many more of this type of disaster.
Just $15 an 1 box a match
WHEN IT RAINS A LOT.THE WATERS FROM THAT AREA RUNS DOWN INTO THAT MANGROVE SWAMP.THAT SWAMP FEEDS INTO BIG CREEK AND FIVE ISLANDS HARBOR.THAT HARBOR FEEDS SEAFORT, NEW DIVISION,PINCHING AND YORKES BAY ALSO NOW CALLED HERMITAGE BEACH.SO PEOPLE BE VERY CAUTIOUS WHEN BATHING ON THOSE BEACHES.
Maybe it’s a good time to look into recycling on a more serious level. We can start exporting crushed glass, cans and plastics for recycling and use the tires for road works by obtaining a Tyre shredder of serious magnitude. The shredded tyres can be mixed into asphalt and the road paved. A much better solution than the crap they using on the roads now. Thank me later!!!
Government not interested in the environment, there is a local company here which recycles oil but they will wait till one their Syrian people bring in a plant and supprt that as the money will be better. Gaston hate local! No money there for him
Not to mention the housing project planning for pensioners beach, the five island primary school moving so much closer and down wind , the 80 million US dollars UWI five island campus. All of these plus the five island village residents and nearby businesses to include , The Royalton Resort , Hawksbill hotel, Galley bay hotel, the Gallery bay and Royalton heights. Like everything else in Antigua that are the responsibility of the government to maintain this landfill is a disaster.
The maintenance of government buildings- the ministry complex and the old parliament building, the hospital, the unfinished car park, the entire St.John city, the water situation distribution system- which means new pipelines installation, will take years at the rate we are doing. They there is the network of roads – worst being the All Saints highway. You literally have to crawl on this road. Hate to see MP’s showing of concrete roads in the villages, using millions on these roads, while a highway like All Saints Road is in such a deplorable state. Our taxi drivers and tour operators are embarrassed over and over.
UPP Members of Parliament are all PHOTOGRAPHERS. They just take photos . Dumb Asses.
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