By Rabindra Rooplall

THERE needs to be a solid waste integration strategy to reduce the negative impact created by poor solid waste management on the health of citizens and on the environment.This was among the sentiments expressed at the launching of the consultations for the National Integrated Solid Waste Management Strategy, held by the Ministry of Communities on Monday.

“The environment that we have is the only one, and if we do not do a good job in preserving and protecting it, then we will all be losers and victims. Cleanliness, sanitation and environmental conditions within our towns and communities can be improved,” Minister Bulkan said.

Relevant stakeholders and partnering organisations of the Ministry attended and participated in this event, held at the Umana Yana in Kingston, Georgetown. Those included the mayors, town clerks, regional chairmen, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Conservation International, sanitation service providers, University of Guyana School of Earth and Science, and the Central Board of Health.

Underscoring the need for a more sophisticated approach in dealing with effective and efficient solid waste management, Minister Bulkan said this initiative is linked directly with the green economy agenda.

He said that in order to reduce the carbon footprint of economic activities pursued across the nation, Government has underscored the importance of a green economic policy.
“This will see new initiatives in waste management… this includes resource recovery from recycling, as well as waste-to-energy initiatives,” he said.

SANITATION MANAGEMENT UNIT
A Sanitation Management Unit has been established at the Ministry of Communities, the Minister said. The unit was not created as a project outfit, but as a unit with qualified subject-matter personnel, to provide oversight and advice for all waste management initiatives across the country.

He said the unit would provide support to infrastructure development, institutional strengthening and capacity-building, and public awareness and community participation.
Minister Bulkan said this would build capacity at the local democratic organs to deliver services to their constituencies; and it would include training and providing of equipment and tools necessary for local councils to be more effective and modern in the management of solid waste.

Noting that the consultation strategy constitutes the next important steps in Government’s solid waste management approach, he said the Integrated Solid Waste Management Strategy was first drafted in 2014 under the Georgetown Solid Waste Management Programme, with support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Finalisation of the strategy would emphasise participation in matters that affect communities all across Guyana. With Cabinet’s approval, Minister Bulkan said, the strategy would become the primary policy for integrated solid waste management.
This will be implemented through regulations, standards and guidelines.

He said further that the ultimate goal is to transform waste into useful resources, and to hold litter offenders accountable.
“Littering and illegal dumping are widespread. There is limited emphasis on waste reduction and resource recovery, sustainable financial measures are lacking, and the waste collection service coverage is inadequate,” Minister Bulkan noted.

“Without a clear path forward to reduce our waste and manage it better, Guyana’s long-term environmental, social and economic well-being will be placed at risk.”

PREVENT WASTE GENERATION
Satrohan Nauth, Environmental engineer attached to the Sanitation Management Unit of the Ministry of Communities, explained that Guyanese must begin to think about ways to first prevent waste generation before minimising and reusing it.

He mentioned that the three pillars of waste management — reuse, recycle and recover — would help in reducing the amount of waste that eventually ends up at landfill sites.
Nauth disclosed that the unit would be seeking to establish sanitary landfill facilities in all 10 regions of Guyana.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tagman Media Inc, Alex Graham, pointed to the synergy between personal hygiene and public waste disposal practices.

Graham, Communications Consultant for the Ministry’s “Green Generation Guyana” public awareness campaign, said provisions must be made to ensure the re-education of a society that is accustomed to improper garbage generation and disposal habits.

He noted that the awareness campaign would especially be geared towards children, with the aim of producing a new cadre of Guyanese as a more modern and progressive way of addressing the issue of Solid Waste Management problem.

WASTE MANAGEMENT BILL
During his presentation, Environmental Consultant Samuel Wright detailed that every human action creates a by-product, and requires prior thought even before the waste is produced.

He related that the Solid Waste Management Strategy is a progressive one, based on the sustainable paradigm of a green economy. Wright said that after a period of consultations in 25 communities in all 10 regions, the draft solid waste management strategy is expected to inform a final document which would support the enactment of the National Solid Waste Management Bill.

According to Wright, it is projected that 40 per cent of all generated waste will, by the year 2024, be recycled, composted, or otherwise put to use.

Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Dawn Hastings-Williams, said during a closing address that many citizens are now fully cognisant of their role in contributing to a society that is clean, healthy, and wholesome for human habitation.

“There are daily reminders about the state of our capital city just a few months ago — the piles of garbage that was left lying on the street and the way illegal dumping had become a way of life. No more can we afford to allow our citizens, their children and grandchildren to regress to a status quo of wanton disregard for the environment,” Hastings-Williams said.

The contract for the consultations was awarded to Project and Environmental Management Consultant Samuel Wright, and consultations are expected to be held in all 10 regions.