The Manager of the National Solid Waste Management Authority Daryl Spencer says the recent fire at Cooks landfill could have been catastrophic had the authority not put several measures in place to address the situation.
Spencer who was speaking on state media outlines some of what has been deployed.
“We had a deluge of rain and whenever it rains at the landfill it becomes increasingly difficult not only to carry waste to the tipping site but for equipment to operate. We have also had within the last few weeks a few breakdowns and what that has done, over the weekend, it has allowed for some of the waste to be uncovered. A landfill is a breathing organ so what happens is that with the breakdown of waste you have volatile gases being released and spontaneous combustion occurred late Sunday evening into Monday morning.”
“It could be catastrophic but we were able to get it under control. We were able to isolate the fire and we have started to cover the waste to prevent air from getting in and carry out some compaction to release some of the air pockets,” Spencer expressed.
Meanwhile, in highlighting some of the challenges that occur at the landfill, Spencer says that the island has been experiencing a significant population expansion within the last 15 years. He adds, “the amount of waste coming to the landfill has increased with the advent of COVID; the amount of residential waste coming to the landfill has almost doubled because a lot of people are at home now. We have issues with access to roads, they are a challenge and they are something that we have been attempting to work on for some time and we are continuing to do so.”
Daryl Spencer stated, “The equipment used in a landfill process is very specific for landfill processes. Some were purchased quite a while back and they would have attained their end of life so we are at a point where we need to start procuring specific landfill type equipment to ensure that once the waste is covered we get proper compaction and coverage.”
