…as City Council waits on Haags Bosch disposal site  to be readied for use
GEORGETOWN Mayor Hamilton Green, said Wednesday, that the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) of Georgetown is to receive a document from government that deals with the way forward for the Le Repentir landfill site.
Speaking with the Chronicle at his City Hall Office, Green explained that he had met with Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Kellawan Lall, as well as with Minister of Public Works and Transport Robeson Benn, last Thursday.
According to him, the ministers agreed on a menu of measures to address the issues surrounding the dumpsite which has been in existence since 1993.
Green said, the council is now waiting for the ministers to respond on how they will proceed in dealing with the problems at the old site.
The Mayor observed that the new site at Haags Bosch, East Bank Demerara, was supposed to be opened since August 1 last. A new date is set for January 2011, he said.
He pointed out that the Ministry of Health has been collaborating with the municipality and often sends out its officers to deal with persons affected by the Le Repentir landfill when it smoulders with spontaneous combustion, giving off billows of smoke.

At a statutory meeting earlier this month, councillors expressed concern about the municipality’s inability to begin disposal of garbage at Haags Bosch this year.
Now that it is clear the site would not be accessible until some time in 2011, the councillors said the municipality must make the requisite adjustments to continue disposal of waste at Le Repentir.
At the moment, cell 2 of the site has been closed. This includes cover materials, installation of gas vents, and rehabilitation of drains, fences and gates, and construction of an access road.
Also, cell 3 has been partially closed. This includes, leveling of garbage and installation of gas vents completed. However, the construction of an access road was put on hold after a request was made to have an additional one metre of garbage placed on the existing surface of cell 3. This is now being accessed.
The council said in a release recently that the plan is not to extend the footprint of the landfill by going further west in the cemetery. Instead, operations will go one metre higher on the existing space used for disposal. Presently, the landfill is about seven 7 metres high. This would facilitate economy of space and assist with the cost to continue using the site until December 2010.
Generally, the release said, the council is seeking to improve extant conditions at the current site as it continues to dispose of the city’s waste there. However, the precarious financial position of the council is affecting its ability to carry out the operation according to strict environmental standards.