fp Turks and Caicos

Garbage is a dirty word in the Turks and Caicos for more reasons than one, due to delayed pick ups, fires burning at the public dump and trash lining some roads.

Citizens are not happy about the pollution of their “Beautiful by Nature” country, so Consultative Forum members put the issue under the microscope on Tuesday at their monthly meeting in Grand Turk.

“What is being done, if anything, to remedy the collection of garbage … to effectively manage the dump site on Providenciales and what plans, if any, are there to encourage recycling?” asked Rev. Scott Brennen.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Capes gave an overview of the situation, revealing the prior astonishing spending on garbage management and road cleaning.

“In September 2009, as part of TCIG Public Finances Stabilisation Plan, the Permanent Secretary of Health Judith Campbell and her team undertook a review of contracts under the Ministry of Health,” Capes said.

The review showed that the department was spending more than $75,000 per month for garbage collection in some parts of Providenciales. Campbell says several contractors were hired to collect garbage in some areas of Providenciales to support the one or two staff trucks the department had to complete the island-wide pick up.

“In some areas this is very tedious work, where garbage is just sitting on the ground in small grocery bags,” Campbell explained.

In addition, average monthly costs of around $70,000, peaking in 2008 at over $100,000 per moth, were being incurred through two private contractors who would charge hourly for the use of a backhoe to turnover or cover the landfill.

Campbell explained the contractors were called on an as needed basis and charged hourly rates, since they did not have a permanent contract, which were higher than what one might pay for a long term contract.

Another $40,000 per month was being paid to a private contractor to clean Leeward Highway until the contract was cancelled Jan. 31. Capes explained that each of these contracts was issued without any form of tender process in earlier years.

In January the Advisory Council gave approval to the Ministry of Health’s Department of Environmental Health to cancel the aforementioned contracts and negotiate more reasonable terms.

“I am pleased to report that the ministry was successful in getting the contracts reduced by approximately 65 percent,” Capes said.

Capes said the Department of Environmental Health has recently entered into agreements with four waste management companies to collect garbage throughout the communities of Provo. Further, the Department of Environmental Health has deployed all street cleaners on Leeward Highway and other main roads. Therefore, “the community of Providenciales should soon see some improvement in waste management,” said Capes.

Collection contracts are now estimated at $25,000, and management of the dump site costs $28,000. Campbell admitted she has had to ask all contractors to take significant cuts in order to meet the available funds, which some have been willing to do considering the financial crunch the government finds itself in. However, she said this is only an interim solution until a permanent solution can be found.

“Notwithstanding the above,” Capes said, “the practice of illegal dumping and improper waste disposal is a major concern for the government.” To solve the problem in the long-term, Capes said a comprehensive waste management plan needs to be established, and plans are underway to achieve this goal.

In addition, Capes said the government is reviewing a proposal to recycle all plastic, aluminum and glass containers in the TCI. The proposal is scheduled to be presented at the next sitting of the Advisory Council.

Following the council’s review, the details of the recycling programme will be presented for debate at a future meeting of the Consultative Forum.