BK International, in a statement yesterday,  said it has noted the comments made by Mayor of Georgetown, Hamilton Green, with regard to the operations of the Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill as reported in the Kaieteur News on Monday, 15th October, 2012.

BK International noted that it was contracted to build and operate the landfill in 2010 in accordance with a design provided by government under an IDB financed Georgetown Solid Waste Management Programme.
The Programme has presented ongoing challenges from its commencement, not the least of which is the fact that the landfill was inadequately designed,  resulting in frequent changes in the design drawings from the beginning of construction.
“The Haags Bosch Landfill was designed to accommodate 250 tons of garbage waste per day but is already receiving as much as 600 tons per day, over double its designed capacity, at peak periods, hugely increasing the scope of work for

which the facility was contracted to operate. The Contractor has, nevertheless, accepted the additional waste required for disposal in an effort to accommodate the additional demand made of the site,” BK stated.
The Contractor said it wishes to further point out that, though the landfill was originally intended to provide for hazardous waste disposal, the Project Manager, Mr. Walter Willis, is yet to approve a design for the construction of a hazardous waste cell.
BK International also pointed out that the Engineer’s estimate for the Project when it was first advertised, and in the contract, is for an expenditure of approximately US$1M on the provision of landfill equipment, but the contractor has already invested from its own resources in excess of US$3M value in equipment to operate the site.
With regard to the Mayor’s expressed concern about the odor from the landfill affecting nearby housing developments, BK International said  the “demands for the disposal of waste in excess of the designed capacity of the landfill will increase the period of time required to process the waste delivered to the site into the landfill cells and to be covered”.
BK International noted that it has also, from the inception of the operation and on the advice of the Contractor’s Environmental Engineer, Ms. Marie Dalsam, differed with the Project Manager on the material to be used as ballast layer to cover the cells which will affect the odor emanating from the site.
The Contractor has urged the use of ½” stone instead of gravel sand being insisted on by the Project Manager. The use of gravel sand will cause clogging and will prevent the free flow of leachate causing fouling and the resultant environmental distress.
The Contractor said its position on environmental control of the site has become even more critical as a result of the government changing the boundaries to allow closer proximity of housing developments to the landfill.
“It should be pointed out that the picture in the Kaieteur News reporting the Mayor’s observations is at the face of the landfill site showing waste on delivery to the site and, therefore, prior to the process of disposing of the waste into the landfill cells,” BK contended.
BK International said it has continued to operate the site well beyond its contractual obligations in the public interest and at a considerable loss.