DIRECTOR of solid waste disposal services at the Mayor & City Councill Walter Narine, yesterday made a presentation on the status of Guyana’s solid-waste management system at a solid-waste management training seminar currently being held in Japan.Narine explained to this publication after his presentation that the initiative, geared towards benefiting CARICOM countries, was birthed out of the fact that although solid- waste management has been observed as a preferential topic, technical measures to this social and environmental issue have not yet been addressed.

“It is said that most of the landfills will be filled to the capacity within a few years, so we need to tackle this issue with appropriate solid waste management urgently,” Narine said.

Considering these circumstances, Japan, and more specifically Okinawa Prefecture — which has similarities with CARICOM member states — was chosen to be the place for the training, which will commence on October 14 and conclude on November 30.

The training, Narine said, will be based on the experiences of Okinawa, which has overcome multiple challenges in its solid waste management system. “Furthermore, Okinawa is the leading prefecture in promoting re-cycling, such as minute waste division,” he added.

Narine said that the training aims to teach participants the necessity and techniques of sustainable solid waste management in islands, and utilisation of same for planning and implementing appropriate solid waste management in respective organisations and countries.

Participants will be exposed to lectures, observations and exercises on activities, and present situations and constraints of solid waste management in respective countries, including Japan. Moreover, through a collective effort, an action plan will be formulated on how to achieve sustainable solid waste management based on the issues in these different countries.

In relation to Guyana’s presentation, which was done yesterday, Narine said he had outlined the challenges facing the solid waste management system, which includes frequency of collection, lack of resources, shortcomings of the Haags Bosch sanitary landfill site, and operating hours for collection and disposal of solid waste.

A short presentation was also made on the way forward for Guyana, which he stated will include increase in the frequency of collection, which was expected to commence yesterday; and large-scale composting.

The training is being attended by representatives from Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, and St Vincent & the Grenadines.

It comes at the height of ongoing clean-up efforts first initiated by the APNU+AFC government since its assumption of executive office in May.

With highly commercialised areas being the primary targets for now, most of Regent, Robb and Water streets have been cleaned. The Bourda Cemetery, which has long been an eyesore for Guyanese, was also restored, with additional works continuing.
Trenches and canals in and around the city are being desilted, while alleyways which had been hidden by overgrowth are being cleared.
In an earlier interview with this publication, Narine had revealed that following the restoration of these commercialised areas, domestic areas which need a facelift would next be targeted.

By Ravin Singh