— City dump to be closed
OFFICIALS yesterday announced that the new garbage site at Haags Bosch, aback Eccles on the East Bank Demerara, will be ready for use by October 5, ahead of the contractual date of January 15, 2011.

They said the modern sanitary landfill facility will be ready by then to begin handling garbage from all of Region Four — half of all the waste generated nationally.

NEW GARBAGE SITE — Works ongoing at the Haags Bosch waste management facility site aback Eccles on the East Bank Demerara

‘Cell Three’ of the current dumpsite on Mandela Avenue in Georgetown will be closed by that date.

Project Manager of the Guyana Solid Waste Management Programme, Mr. Walter Willis, told reporters on a visit to the Haag Bosch site yesterday that the facility will have a leachate collection system, which will ensure that it does not create a stench for nearby residents.

The site will also be well secured with fences to the east and west and a surrounding moat, he said.

According to Willis, after the Haags Bosch facility would have begun to accept solid waste in October, the active face of ‘Cell Three’ of the site on Mandela Avenue will be “permanently closed, bringing an end to a period of environmentally unfriendly method of solid waste.”

On November 20, 2009, the contract for the construction of the landfill was awarded to BK International in association with Puran Brothers Disposal Service at a contract price of US$9.7M.

Willis said that the Government of Guyana, being aware of the negative social and environmental impacts in keeping the city dump in operation, also awarded a contract for the closure of ‘Cell Two’ of that dumpsite and the construction of the main access road to Haags Bosch.

He said ‘Cell Two’ was closed to reduce the risk of fire while the access road to Haags Bosch was built to allow an early start on the construction of the landfill. He added that both of these activities were completed within the contract period.

He recalled that the government, through the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, also awarded a contract to commence the partial closure of ‘Cell Three’ of the Georgetown dump, which will still continue to take solid waste until the Haags Bosch facility is ready to handle this.

According to Willis, the contract for the Haags Bosch sanitary landfill stipulated a construction period of 12 months, and operation period of 10 years.

“The government, however, was desirous of having the Haags Bosch facility ready for receiving waste by August 2010. This has not materialized, due to delays in delivery of geosynthetic materials, including the leachate collection pipes, which need to be at the bottom of the landfill cell, before placing solid waste as specified in the contract documents.

“We are committed to have the Haags Bosch landfill activated before the contractual time of January 15, 2011. In keeping with this desire, the contractor has committed to have prepared by October 5, 2010 part of cell 1 for receipt of solid waste,” he said.

Willis explained that because of the expanded scope of the project in terms of the waste it has to collect, the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, and not the Mayor and City Council, is the executing agency.

He said the facility is being geared to handle all waste generated in Region Four which is half of all the waste generated nationally.