Mini incinerators for waste management are 'nonsense'- Hon Penn
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI- A proposed plan by former Health Minister Hon Carvin Malone (AL) for mini incinerators to tackle the current waste management issues being experienced in the [British] Virgin Islands (VI) was recently shut down by Minister for Health Hon Marlon Penn (R8).
According to Incumbent District Nine Representative Hon Vincent O. Wheatley, plans to order 4 incinerators based on recommendations made by consultancy company Wood Group UK Limited were stopped by Hon Penn.
Mini incinerators are 'nonsense'- Hon Penn
Speaking after residents of the First District turned up at the House of Assembly (HoA) on Monday, April 17, 2023, to protest the constant landfill fires at Pockwood Pond last weekend, Hon Penn referred to such moves as ‘band-aid’ fixes which he claimed are not helping the issue.
“You hearing talks about mini incinerators, don’t be fooled about that nonsense. Those things have a capacity of 60 tonnes combined. The waste capacity of the plant itself is over 150 tonnes per day. So you’re going to spend one point something million dollars to bring in equipment that cannot work? That cannot fix the problem it’s only going to compound the problem…I don’t want to do any kind of patchwork fix to the problem because I know the people of the Virgin Islands deserve better than that,” Hon Penn said.
New plant being sourced- Hon Penn
While apologising to the residents, he noted that instead, a new incineration plant is being sourced to serve as a backup plan.
“We’re in the process of getting an additional plant for redundancy. So you’ll have two…in case something happens with one of them, there’s redundancy in place to deal with the issue in a comprehensive way,” Hon Penn pointed out.
He also stated that he will be looking at having an engineered landfill at the same area where the fires took place and to introduce recycling to deal with the issues.
It is unclear what the new plant will cost taxpayers.
In the meantime, residents of the First District and some in the Third District have no choice but to continue living with the effects of the almost daily landfill fires.
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23 Responses to “Mini incinerators for waste management are 'nonsense'- Hon Penn”
Almost EVERY DAY IF NOT EVERY DAY SOMEONE IN THE FIFTH DISTRICT SOMEWHERE FROM THE SHABAZZ JUICE STAND DOWNWARDS TO HUNTUMS GHUT IS BURNING BUSH OR WHATEVER ELSE IT IS AT TIMES AFTER 6AM AND THROUGHOUT ANY GIVEN DAY INCLUDING SUNDAY.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!!!
GOVERNMENT DEAL WITH THIS NOW!!! THE LAWLESSNESS HAS TO STOP!!!!
Those mini incinerators could have been used on Anegada, JVD and VG.
if he wasn't so short sighted he would have realized that those incinerators could be used as part a combined cycle system to also generate electricity! But hey, i'm only a engineer and not as smart as a politician.!
It would be good to identify whether the synergies spoken of back then still have possibility as new solutions are being planned.
RDA and Wood Group were engaged to investigate and advise on the purchase of mobile incinerators, and the We Recycle program was tapped to reduce the volume of waste going into the land fills. The units would have been purchased, shipped, installed, and operational by October 2022. Meanwhile, the permanent facility would have been engineered, tendered, and delivered by late 2023.
This decision was shelved in favour of purchasing and installing the burnt out control panel for the failed incinerator. The last time around, the manufacturer took over a year to deliver. Please find out if and when the contract was signed for the replacement control panel.
Moreover, the BVI is a small locale and lacks the acreage to construct a long-term landfill, ie, 100, 50 or even 25 year lifecycle. Consequently, its prime option is incineration. However, incineration must have redundancy capacity and capability, to facilitate maintenance, repair, breakdowns, etc. Further, the emissions from the plant must be effectively manage to protect the health, safety, and security of residents, especially residents residing down stream from the plant. The PEL (permitted exposure limits) from the plant should be within recommended maximum limits. To ensure this happens, the plant must be properly maintained and operated. Operators must be well-trained, retrained, and certified. And since the territory is remote from major markets and just in time(JIT) delivery is not an option, a high-low limit inventory of critical parts should be maintained on island and shelf ready. Moreover, to reduce the demand on the incinerator(s), a robust recycle programme must be rolled out. Recycle, reduce, reuse!!!
Further, explore generating power and other uses from the waste stream.