Search for landfill space as George Town dump nears capacity

Alternative space is being looked at for the continuation of landfill operations should the dump hit full capacity before the completion of the long-awaited waste-to-energy facility, Health and Wellness Minister Sabrina Turner confirmed on Monday.

Turner, responding to a parliamentary question from Deputy Opposition Leader Joey Hew on Monday, said the George Town dump has at least four-to-five years’ worth of landfilling capacity remaining at the existing site based on Department of Environmental Health estimates.

“The George Town landfill has approximately 780,000 cubic yards remaining based on the current rate of input of approximately 13,000 cubic yards per month,” Turner said in Parliament.

She said that a place has been located for landfilling based on recent presentations made to her and her government colleagues, should the landfill hit full capacity.

Turner, however, said the DEH should be able to continue using the landfill until the construction of the waste-to-energy facility is completed.

The facility falls under the ReGen project, which is still under negotiation.

Financial close not finalised

Government and the Dart consortium are still trying to hammer out the financial close on the project.

In March 2021, the then Progressives-led government signed the deal with the consortium, but the financing of the project has remained under negotiation.

The project was passed from the Health Ministry to the Sustainability Ministry when then Premier Wayne Panton was at the helm of the PACT government.

There have been no recent statements from the government on the project’s future.

In January this year, a Ministry of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency spokesperson said in the coming weeks the ministry would be working towards sharing more details on updated timelines for the project negotiations.

However, those timelines remain unknown.

Concerns over the cost of the project have also been raised.

Turner, speaking on the available space, said that if for some “unforeseen reason” the full usage of the landfill space is expended before the waste-to-energy project is completed, then there would be a need for another option for landfilling elsewhere “at a location that is not yet considered or determined”.

Hew, through a supplementary question, said that government is “cutting it close” if it is going to take three years for construction of the facility once there is a final contract.

There will be a need for residual landfilling while that construction takes place, he added.

Hew questioned whether there were plans to landfill elsewhere.

Turner said she would be providing a more detailed response on the additional space being considered, but did not specify when that would be.