Future of landfill project in doubt amid government silence

After seven years and potentially millions of dollars in public funds expended, the long-planned project to replace the George Town landfill with new waste management facilities is understood to be on the rocks.

Government has been silent about the status of the ReGen project, which was first agreed in 2017 after an extensive consultation and bid process.

Amid a vacuum of official information, the opposition is calling for answers on the future of the multi-million-dollar deal.

Deputy Opposition Leader Joey Hew has previously tabled parliamentary questions on the matter, and in the upcoming session former Premier Wayne Panton will also be seeking answers on the status of the project.

This is scheduled to be heard on 22 July when the House meets.

He called on government to “come clean” over the future of the project and whether or not it has an alternate plan for the landfill site.

During seven years of negotiations since the deal was agreed, costs have escalated exponentially. Former Finance Minister Chris Saunders previously indicated that the deal had become “unaffordable”, citing disagreement over that project as one of the reasons for his departure from government.

The issue has been a political hot potato for over a decade. The Progressives won the 2013 election partly on the strength of a campaign promise to keep a proposed new landfill out of Bodden Town.

The ReGen project was the culmination of that party’s efforts to find an alternative national solution. Now it appears the long-standing problem could be back on the table ahead of the next general election in 2025.

Repeated requests from the Cayman Compass seeking updates on the progress of the project have gone unanswered by the Ministry of Sustainability and government officials. We have filed freedom of information requests on details of the project which have yet to be answered.

Future unknown

Multiple sources have indicated that it is now likely to be shelved as the United People’s Movement administration is focused on delivering on other projects, like the Cayman Brac High School and the East-West Arterial extension.

It is not clear what alternate plan, if any, government has for the landfill, which remains a scar on Grand Cayman’s landscape and an environmental and fire hazard.

The last official word from government on anything related to the project was back in February.

Health and Wellness Minister Sabrina Turner had indicated then, in Parliament, that alternative space was 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.

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”.

Environmental Advisory Board chair Gina Ebanks-Petrie, speaking at the 19 June National Conservation Council meeting, said the environmental impact assessment for the project, which she referred to as the Integrated Solid Waste Management System, has been completed.

‘The country needs answers’

Hew, in a recent statement, said “government must come clean and advise the country at the next meeting of Parliament in July on what is happening with the ReGen project and whether any progress will be made before the next election”.

Parliament is next set to meet on 22 July.

Government and the Dart consortium have been trying to hammer out the financial close on the project, which was signed in March 2021.

The then Progressives-led government had signed the deal with the consortium, but the financing of the project has remained under negotiation since then.

Former Premier Wayne Panton, who was at the helm of the PACT government at the time, moved the project from the health ministry to the sustainability ministry, which he then led.

Hew, in his statement, pressed for the government’s plan for the island’s waste problem.

He said if no solution is forthcoming, then government must tell the country the site they have identified to begin a new landfill.

“What is the expected timeline for developing it, and what is the anticipated cost? How would the disastrous environmental impacts of such a decision be mitigated? What abortive contract costs would have to be written off? There are more questions than answers because the PACT/UPM Government has continued to fail to complete the ReGen contract and remain silent about its plans for waste management,” Hew contended in his statement.

He said government’s failure to complete the work on the financial close, after having missed the project deadlines repeatedly, “has significantly increased the project costs for the country and its citizens”.

“These inexplicable delays have created uncertainty and risk. The PACT/UPM Government’s term will end in about ten months, and the country will have regressed in providing a sustainable solution to our waste needs and failed to close the current landfill. This inaction could lead to significant environmental and financial consequences,” Hew warned.

He said ReGen was the sustainable solution and, if completed, it will provide Cayman with an environmentally friendly waste management system that would vastly reduce landfill needs for many decades.

In addition, he said the facility would deal with landfill gas, an environmental hazard which now contributes to dangerous fires and leaks into the atmosphere at a rate of about 23,000 tonnes a year.

“Composting and recycling would increase significantly, and the project will also provide Grand Cayman with sustainable ‘energy from waste’ that would be sold to CUC and help to deliver our energy transition targets. It would also safely extract the landfill gas trapped in ‘Mount Trashmore’ for electricity production,” Hew argued.

Editor’s Note: The Cayman Compass is a subsidiary of Dart Media and Entertainment.