Students get tour of Haags Bosch landfill
Operations at the Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill
Operations at the Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill

IN keeping with the Green Agenda, the Ministry of Communities on Tuesday took 16 work study students on a tour of the Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill to educate them on what happens to waste after it is collected from their homes.

Landfill Site Manager Lloyd Stanton, explained every step to the students, from the collection of garbage from the trucks, to the dissemination of treated leachate into the waterways. He advised them to get rid of the out-of-sight, out-of-mind, mindset, explaining that after garbage is disposed of by an individual and is taken away by the trucks, they usually aren’t interested in what happens to the waste after that. But really and truly, he said, that is when the garbage is prone to become a threat to the environment.

He added that every individual produces at least five pounds of waste every day, and that accumulates to over 350 tons in total that the landfill receives on a daily basis. Stanton encouraged the students to practise the three Rs; Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. This, he said, will aid in alleviating environmental hazards.

Landfill Site Manager Lloyd Stanton (extreme right), explaining the process to students

Public Relations Officer, Ministry of Communities, Danielle Campbell-Lowe stated that the ministry will make it a regular feature to take persons at least three times a year to the landfill, so more persons can be aware of the process. She stated that it is all part of the Green Generation Guyana Project (GGGP), under the Sanitation Management Unit. She explained that under the GGGP, are many mini projects that place a lot of emphasis on greening and the environment, inclusive of the landfill visit.

“Most of these students– beyond science lessons– have not had any exposure to environmental awareness, so we thought that the hands-on experience would do a lot for them in terms of how they see waste, going forward; and this is just one of the many, many projects that we have coming out of GGG,” Danielle said.

She further noted that they hope to improve the awareness out there as to what we throw away, how we can reduce the amount of waste we produce and how we can recycle and reuse it, so that it has a limited effect on the environment.

In speaking with the students, most of them were thrilled and curious to understand the disposal process. A lot of them were ignorant as to what really happens to waste after the trucks collect it. They were all grateful for the knowledge received and said they would never forget the experience.

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