Landfill EIA planned for early 2020
An environmental impact assessment into the proposed facilities and programmes for the George Town landfill is expected to begin early this year.
The EIA will be carried out by Decco Consortium, a Dart-owned entity, which was awarded the contract to design, build and maintain the new facility as part of the Cayman’s Integrated Solid Waste Management System.
On Friday, Hannah Reid, a spokesperson for Dart, said the EIA’s scope will “consider the design and impact of the suggested facilities, which include a waste-to-energy facility, a materials recycling facility, green waste facility, a household waste recycling centre and a lined landfill for residual waste in Grand Cayman”.
She said the terms of reference were submitted to the Environmental Assessment Board last year. Once published, the terms of reference will be subjected to a 21‑day public consultation period.
The comments regarding the EIA come on the heels of ongoing machinery failure at the George Town landfill. The Department of Environmental Health’s only compactor, purchased for $450,000 in 2015, was out of operation for a number of months during the latter half of 2019, as the DEH awaited parts to be shipped to Cayman. It returned to service this month and was used to compact a backlog of household refuse and bulk waste materials that came into the landfill during the holiday season.
In October, Dart announced that the landfill’s main mound would be capped sometime early this year. Reid said the process of capping the landfill will be a partnership between the government and Dart, and funds have already been allocated to accomplish the task.
“The Government has allocated funds in the 2020/21 budget for capping and covering the main mound at the George Town landfill and works are expected to begin early this year,” said Reid.
Although the main mound will be capped, tipping operations, which include the dumping and compacting of garbage, will be moved to lower areas of the landfill.
On Friday, Hannah Reid, a spokesperson for Dart, said the EIA’s scope will “consider the design and impact of the suggested facilities, which include a waste-to-energy facility, a materials recycling facility, green waste facility, a household waste recycling centre and a lined landfill for residual waste in Grand Cayman”.
She said the terms of reference were submitted to the Environmental Assessment Board last year. Once published, the terms of reference will be subjected to a 21‑day public consultation period.
The comments regarding the EIA come on the heels of ongoing machinery failure at the George Town landfill. The Department of Environmental Health’s only compactor, purchased for $450,000 in 2015, was out of operation for a number of months during the latter half of 2019, as the DEH awaited parts to be shipped to Cayman. It returned to service this month and was used to compact a backlog of household refuse and bulk waste materials that came into the landfill during the holiday season.
In October, Dart announced that the landfill’s main mound would be capped sometime early this year. Reid said the process of capping the landfill will be a partnership between the government and Dart, and funds have already been allocated to accomplish the task.
“The Government has allocated funds in the 2020/21 budget for capping and covering the main mound at the George Town landfill and works are expected to begin early this year,” said Reid.
Although the main mound will be capped, tipping operations, which include the dumping and compacting of garbage, will be moved to lower areas of the landfill.
