By:Curtis Morton
Charlestown-Nevis-Mr. Rudy Browne, Operations Manager of the Sanitary Landfill located at Long Point, on Thursday 21st January, confirmed that the much anticipated Waste to Energy Plant, is still very much on stream.
Speaking on the program SWEEP (Solid Waste Environmental and Education Program), Browne explained that the company which is responsible for the plant has already cleared some 14 acres of land at Long Point, where the plant will be located.
Seven acres will be utilized for the placement of solar panels which are expected to be in place by July to August of this year.
These solar panels will be used to generate electricity and some may even be passed on to NEVLEC.
Once that phase is completed, the construction of the plant will commence.
As part of the overall plan, two trucks have been donated to the Nevis Solid Weste Management Authority (NSWMA) and these are already in operation.
Browne further indicated that the Nevisian public will have to be educated as regards the sorting of various forms of Refuse, as this would be a key ingredient towards the success of the Waste to Energy plant.
‘Just as it is the case in the bigger countries, the different types of waste will have to be separated and this will make it easier for the persons at the plant to take what is needed for the plant and discard the rest,’ he said.
He noted that when the time is appropriate, a rigorous education campaign will be started, firstly in the schools. ‘Once the children get the message, the adults will get it too,’ he stated confidently.
Browne also used the opportunity to appeal to householders and business owners to ensure that when they pay truckers to take waste to the landfill, that the waste actually gets to the landfill, as there have been many cases of illicit dumping at unauthorized sites.
‘The easiest way to confirm, is to request a receipt from the Landfill. Once they cannot provide you with that receipt, they did not take the load to the Landfill,’ he said.
He ended by thanking the general public for their generally kind cooperation in keeping Nevis clean and beseeched his hearers to continue to work in partnership with the NSWMA to maintain a healthy and clean Nevis.