With limited space to dispose of more than 700,000 tonnes of waste produced annually in T&T, head of the Solid Waste Management Company Ltd (SWMCOL) Ronald Roach says recycling is essential.
CEO Ronald Roach, who was speaking at the San Fernando City Corporation ‘s statutory meeting yesterday, said 80 per cent of the waste is recyclable but currently less than five per cent is being recycled.
Noting that recycling is not an option any more, Roach said, “the reality is we are simply running out of space from which we can dispose of materials, of your waste.”
In collaboration with the Public Utilities Ministry, he said SWMCOL has been working with the various municipal corporations on a project which started in the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation in 2016. He said they recently launched the project at the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Corporation and plans are on the way to launch the project in San Fernando.
He explained the project will start off in the Gulf View and Embacadere communities and the residents will be asked to separate their beverage containers, including plastic containers, glass bottles, aluminium cans and tetra packs.
And once a week the recyclable waste will be picked up by designated trucks which will be processed at SWMCOL’s facilities. Interviewed afterwards, Roach said the public is interested in recycling but they don’t have the time to do it. He said the Curbside Recycling Project is expected to make it easier for people. Roach said SWMCOL operates three landfills, the largest being Beetham Landfill which receives half of the country’s waste. He said the Beetham Landfill is in a swamp and is running out of space.
“And, therefore, how do you relocate a site like Beetham? Where do you put that waste that is coming in now?...Nobody wants to have a landfill close to where they live so it becomes very difficult, if not impossible, to find new space to have a landfill site. The solution has to be that of recycling.”
Noting that 2010 statistics put T&T annual waste production at 700,000 tonnes, he said, “We do generate far too much waste than we should for an island state,” said Roach.
In fact, he said per capita T&T waste production is quite high in the Caribbean and Latin America and is in the range of industrial countries like the United States and Europe. Roach presented a trophy while San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello presented a cash prize to students of Naparima College and San Fernando East Secondary who tied for first place in a recycling theme competition.
Several stunning replicas of historical sites and landmarks in the southern city of San Fernando created by primary schools from waste materials, as part of a recycling competition, hosted by San Fernando West PNM Youth League, were also on display.
