For the first time, a good portion of Cayman Islands
residents seem to be engaged in discussion about what to do about the George
Town Landfill problem.
‘Mount Trashmore’ has been a major national issue for more
than a decade. Successive governments have given the issue lip service,
commissioned studies and gone on trips to visit various types of waste
management facilities. There have been no tangible results from these efforts
and an increasingly dangerous George Town Landfill continues to grow.
Two things seem to have galvanised interest in the issue: A
particular place, Bodden Town, has been identified as the best area for the new
solid waste management facility and the Dart Group is the private sector entity
government has chosen to partner with on the project.
Everyone with knowledge about Cayman’s solid waste
management problem agrees something must be done and that the solution, no
matter what it is, will be very expensive. Since the government can’t afford a
solution and won’t be able to anytime in the foreseeable future, the only way
to deal with the problem is a public/private partnership in which both parties
can benefit.
The Dart Group has proposed a resolution that is good for
its investments here, but that is also very good for Cayman in that it allows
the country to deal with a major problem without paying for it.
There are some drawbacks to the current proposal and the
current discourse is bringing some of these issues to the forefront. For
instance, it makes little sense to start a new waste management site that would
only be a new landfill. The way forward
must include a recycling facility and recycling legislation so that any new
landfill areas don’t get filled as fast and don’t become anything like the
current dump.
In addition, a new waste management facility in Bodden Town
ideally would have new road access, something not being discussed in the
current proposal. Maybe it should be.
Regardless, it is important that any discussion on the solid
waste management issue centre around facts and not emotionally-charged rumour
or politically-motivated misinformation.
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