National Solid Waste Management Authority statement on Landfill Fire

1. We really could not have witnessed a bigger irony. Just as Prime Minister Hon Gaston Browne was in Dubai attending the Cop 28 meeting along with other world leaders, we witnessed yet another environmental nightmare in Antigua and Barbuda at the Cooks Dump. We need to do much more than talk and pay lip service when it comes to the protection of our environment. Sadly, the Government is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to environmental violation here. They talk and then all their words literally go up in “smoke.” If the government wants Antiguan and Barbudan to be compliant with environmental issues and buy in to the awareness program, they must be prepared to lead and enforce. Cooks dump is a grave failure and continues to be a nightmare to the residents of Five islands in particular, the staff and guests at the Royalton and to the staff and students at the UWI Five Islands Campus. It’s full time that the site be abandoned and an alternative site sought as a matter of urgency.

2. This is not the first time someone set those tires on fire. The watchmen who work at the facility claim that they never saw the person/s who set those fires. Luckily this time around there was a northeast to southwest wind which sent the smoke towards Pinching Bay and not into five islands. On another note, there is a metal recycling plant near cooks. They often strip the rubber off metal and then burn the rubber. That is a very dangerous practice as they have no schedule for burning that rubber waste and no consideration for the people who reside in five islands. I recall a fire was set last year and the pungent rubber smoke started affecting residents and students at UWI in five islands. Solid Waste should also look into that practice. Epa.gov has the full list of the toxic carcinogens released from burning rubber. It’s one of the worse things for human beings to inhale…there are many short and especially long term health consequences.

3. @ Audley Phillip Yes what an irony that Gaston is in Dubai pointing fingers about greenhouse gases, while methane is igniting at Cooks
   If this was not a dangerous and health relation situation, I’d be laughing.

   Another clear example putting forward the notion of wanting to be an economic powerhouse is comical.
   The policies that govern the way we live, consistent with international norms just does not exists.
   Landfills produces methane gases, and most landfills have a protocol to deal with methane gases. Obviously, there is none at Cooks Dump.

   The dumpsite does not need to be ignited by a human. It caused by something known spontaneous combustion at disposal sites. This can occur due to oxygen intrusion from a variety of other factors. Many disposal sites similar to oil refineries burn off the trapped gases in a controlled fashion with a chimney high up in the air which flames at the top contiguously.
   Recent technology advances is allowing those gases to be harnessed and sold.

   The statement issued by The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) is interesting:
   “The Authority wishes to advise persons who visit the landfill to cease and desist from malicious acts as this causes disruption.”

   They are asserting this could be a malicious act. It’s hard to believe that the Solid Waste are not familiar with the methane gases produced by landfills, and the fact that if not managed will cause fires.

   The science or engineering student Students at Five Island UWI should be looking at ways to handle methane gases at Cooks. That what universities today are all about, innovation.

   Of equal interest is the National Solid waste publicly thank all the government stakeholders who acted swiftly in the emergency situation to gain control of the fire. Special mention is given to the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda, National Office of Disaster Services, the Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Ministry of Public Works, Antigua Public Utilities Authority along with the Central Housing and Planning Authority and the management and staff of Cook’s Sanitary Landfill who joined forces to aid in the extinguishing of the blaze.

   I have come to measure the extent of the incompetence in GOAB Ministries and Authorities by the manner in which pat themselves and other entities on the back, which has become the norm.
   How about addressing the big gorilla in the room? Which is a system to manage methane gases which is the largest of Greenhouse gases which is a known greenhouse gas produced by the landfill.
   At the end of the day, we know what ABLP all is about.
   Where is the opposition?

   Do they really think they can match ABLP with handout at Christmas and election time?

   Situations such as this fire is a low hanging fruit. its a policy and operational failure which is putting a community, a college campus, a resort and surrounding community at risk.

   • When ALP won or purchase the election thanks to a large business interest, they stop Mr burnes and dubios resigned in frustration and upon taking control a sheep foot compactor purchased by UPP was burnt, the men operating was sent home and solid waste degenerated back into the stone age , syrians given big contracts, and those who are owed by solid waste had syrians approaching to by their debt at a lower pay out then the syrian goes to the treasury and get paid in full instantly when the not connected black Antiguans though they be labor supporter can’t attain such feat.thats when you have a hegemony of political pragmatism and not a politics of political ideology, so syrian trump Antigua by blood. White monopoly capital florish under Gaston brown and to a lesser extent in the other party since they are all labor oriented, meaning they represent planters or in today world the hoteliers, wealth extraction as cane and cotton days where all the money leave and workers are paid pittances, a salary is an addiction like drug that keep you in one place ,hand to mouth, you live to work, not work to live. Sometimes I wonder how these leaders feel spouting at elections about a white savior coming to build hotels .

4. This is no feather in the cap for the ALP so the ghost-workers have all scattered. We will never get their intervention on any of these happenings.

5. UPP is asleep at the wheel. All the news are about crime and public relations gimmicky nonsense, issued the Gaston and the various arms of Government.

   UPP need to wake up and come out of their shell; and use the ammunition Gaston gives all day and everyday with his failures.

   This fire at Cooks is an example of gross incompetence and negligence.

   UPP needs to issue policy objectives to address such failures.
   Waste Management is a low hanging fruit. It’s a personnel and operational issue.
   Neither should they allow the government to pat themselves on the back for their failures.

   UPP can never beat the ABLP in the handouts race.
   The poor is looking for their handout in a few weeks, and the Nepotistic political elites get their handouts all year round.

   What’s in your playbook UPP?

6. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/02/us/canada-wildfires-smoke-new-york-air.html

   Wildfires in Canada Bringing Hazy Skies Over New York, Other Regions

   Incase you guys have forgotten there were several wild fires around the world this summer. Some may still be burning. And we are making a big thing out of a little fire in Cooks. All because of politics. I tell you you guys look so foolish is not funny.

   “The National Interagency Fire Center statistics show that as of Nov. 7, 2023, there have been 48,681 fires this year that have burned 2.54 million acres. This is below the 10-year average (2013-2022) of 49,015 fires and significantly below the 10-year average acreage burned of 6.56 million acres.7 Nov 2023”

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