fp Turks and Caicos

An expert who visited the Providenciales landfill in March said the government should proceed quickly with its plan to clean up and modernize what could be “a clear unhealthy situation.”

A brief report by Dr. Pierre Auger, director of Occupational Health at the University of Quebec released Oct. 7 said the government should also “simultaneously and for the long run, consider putting up an integrated waste management program to decrease the overall volume of waste and its impacts.”

Although Auger said a decisive assessment was not possible in the short time of his visit, the situation could be unhealthy for those living nearby.

Residents complained to Dr. Augner of health problems due to smoke plume that sometimes billows from the site.

Auger said he met with Kenrick Neely, deputy director of Environmental Health Department, who said the company currently in charge of the dump site ceased putting up bonfires several months earlier, and that the fires were more likely due to illegal inhabitants of the area for the purpose of recovering copper from tires and wire.

“The best buy in these circumstances would be to accelerate the retrofitting of the dump site and to control access as fast as possible, as already laid down by the plan of the authorities,” Auger said in his report.

In 2008 after a rigourous tender process, the government selected Turks and Caicos Environmental Management (TCEM) to implement a nationwide waste management system. The system was to include turning the Providenciales and Grand Turk dump sites into properly managed landfills and closing all other dump sites throughout the country.

The government is currently in negotiations with TCEM to create a reduced version of its originally approved countrywide waste management proposal.

Implementation was postponed in late 2008 due to Hurricanes Hanna and Ike. It appeared to be back on track in 2010 when the interim government got the project back on its priority list, but the government again hit the brakes for a lack of funds.

Last month the government said it was working with TCEM to find a scaled down model which could fit budget constraints, while still allowing for the most key elements to move forward.

According to government officials, negotiations continue between TCEM and government to get the project up and running as soon as possible.

Photo: Smoke often billows from the Providenciales landfill.