Haags Bosch still on fire
Smoke was still emanating from the Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill Site yesterday
Smoke was still emanating from the Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill Site yesterday

By Ravin Singh

THE Ministry of Communities is closely monitoring a fire which has been consuming the Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill Site (HSLS) since Sunday, and has effectively rendered it inoperable.

The Ministry of Communities has said that firefighters and the contractors managing the site – BK International Inc and Puran Brothers Disposal Services – have been unable to extinguish the blaze, which has adversely affected neighbouring communities.

The Ministry of Communities is consequently partnering with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure in an effort to bring urgent relief to affected communities.

Up to yesterday, heavy grey smoke was polluting the atmosphere as a result of the burning of disposed unsorted waste.

“The site, which has been operating as a dumpsite from day one, is closed; and can only be reopened when the situation is addressed,” a statement from the Communities Ministry advised.

According to the Ministry, the fire resulted primarily because of the contractor’s failure to adhere to operations management requirements as stipulated under Section 15.6 of the signed agreement regarding fire prevention and fire-fighting.
Additionally, poor management techniques and inadequate security measures were among the practices employed by the contractor, and these may very well have contributed to the current situation at the site.

“The aforementioned factors, together with the landfill not being vented and the failure to provide daily earth cover, have contributed to the significant buildup of methane gas; which when ignited continues to burn in an uncontrollable manner,” the statement added.

It was further disclosed that during the initial stages of the fire, the contractor was assisted by the Guyana Fire Service, which requested the contractor to provide, in accordance with the conditions of the contract, additional resources needed to enhance their capacity to control the blaze.
These resources included three high-capacity pumps (six inches in diameter) to enhance the flooding of the site in several locations where the fire exists; two heavy-duty crane, dragline or long boom excavators to excavate the waste pile in an effort to reach the bottom, where the fire may be located; and water hoses (six inches diameter and 450-ft in length).

HAMPERED
However, despite numerous engagements with the assigned contractor, the supply of the items was delayed, and this reportedly “hampered” the Guyana Fire Service’s capacity to arrest the fire.

The Communities Ministry has sought to assure the general public that it is currently monitoring the situation closely, since it is aware that residents of the neighbouring communities are being affected by this existing situation.

Meanwhile, the Ministry also noted that a temporary holding area located at Haags Bosch has been identified to accommodate waste generated within the municipality of Georgetown and its immediate environs.

And while this is expected to be operational shortly, Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green yesterday told reporters at a press briefing that an agreement has been made between officials to immediately use a site located at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara. The readiness of the site was dependent on repairs which need to be done to the access road, and the agreeableness of weather conditions.

Prior to this, however, he noted that an area east of the Le Repentir Cemetery was being utilised to store garbage over the last weekend. And while this, according to Green, is a “backward step”, that operation will come to an end immediately.

Mayor Green is pleading with citizens not to illegally dispose of solid waste on parapets or in waterways, given the adverse effects of such practices.

“We are asking persons to burn or bury your garbage to avoid causing environmental threats,” the mayor said. This development comes at the height of a massive clean-up campaign embarked upon by the Government upon its assumption to office, earlier this year.

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