The Solid Waste Management Company (SWMCOL) came under fire yesterday from the Minister of the Environment and Water Resources Ganga Singh. Singh threatened to scrap its contract should it fail to meet its deadline for building a warehouse for the new state-of-the-art US$1 million recycling facility. He was speaking to reporters during a tour of Namdevco’s Port-of-Spain compound, the site for the Beverage Container Collection Project.
Singh said SWMCOL had been failing to keep deadlines for certain projects, but said it will deliver with this latest project. “SWMCOL’s excuses are procurement issues, with respect to they have to conform to the Green Fund Procurement requirements, which is very transparent and open. “The warehouse is being built in the Beetham Landfill. The projected date is January 2015 and I hope SWMCOL keeps their deadlines. If they don’t, business would be moved on to someone else.”
Speaking with T&T Guardian, SWMCOL’s general manager of operations Ronald Roach said equipment had already been ordered from New York. “It will be a state-of-the-art facility based on simple technology. Bottles will be converted into a half-inch shredded PET (polyethylene terephthalate) which will help close the loop with respect to the recycling of PET in the country.” Roach believes the recycling plant, the first in the country, will create more downstream industries.
“It will take us much closer to having an established recycling system in T&T.” But he could not give a date of completion. Singh said since the beverage container project was launched in March over 521,000 kilogrammes of beverage containers had been collected, adding that the Beverage Container Bill will go before the Parliament soon. He said there is also a need for a recycling authority for T&T.
“We are hoping that on the bedrock of SWMCOL we create that T&T Recycling Authority. We are still at an incipient stage of the beginning of a recycling authority.”
Engines found in city drains
Government has received a loan of US$120 million for its Sustainable City Programme. According to Singh, part of that loan will be used towards the drainage package plan of the capital city. He said currently they were clearing the drains at South Quay and will soon complete the design for the underground drainage. On Tuesday, Singh visited the PTSC compound to witness the cleaning of the underground drains.
“You would see from 2x4 to 4x4 plyboard and an engine block being vacuumed out from the underground drains,” he said. He also said focus was being given to the mouths of the underground drains.
“The cove area, right next to the lighthouse, we have begun dredging in that area in order to clear the area and beautify it and allow for runoff. The cove ought to be a marina barrage so that it will collect the fresh water and purpose be found for it, but, at this point we are dredging and beautifying.”