On Friday June 11th, contractor for the first phase of the Solid Waste Management program, RJP Construction Company handed over the first section of the garbage dump back to the Belize City Council. As of that time garbage is now being disposed of where the old garbage dump was located.
Contractor Romel Berges took the Guardian newspaper on a tour of the dump and
from the onset it is evident that significant planning and work has gone into the establishment of the first phase of the Solid Waste Management Program. Berges says that since the start of the project on April 28th the project has been going ahead of schedule, three weeks ahead to be precise. He says that over 5000 loads of clay and hard core material have been dumped to cap portions of the dump and to construct an all weather road.
Driving into the dump there is an impressive road network that has been put in place to access the various subdivisions of the dump. Berges says that already the front portion of the dump has been capped and no more garbage will be dumped on these sites. However there are areas that have not been capped, these have seen the placing of dumping bays for easy access by those using the facilities. Additionally the dump features vents which will allow for methane gas to be released both from the areas that have been capped and the areas where the garbage is currently being dumped.
Berges says that with the establishment of various garbage ‘quadrants’ it will allow for easy access to the area and will prevent fires from breaking out and sweeping across the entire garbage dump. An additional fire prevention measure put in place includes the placing of dikes to prevent fires from skipping from one area into another.
Currently work is being done to complete the work where the latest garbage dump existed. Heavy equipment is in the area leveling the garbage and clay is being placed and flattened as a final phase of the project. Included in the project is also the construction of a concrete guard hut at the entrance of the dump site which will be completed within the next couple of weeks.
The first phase of the project is estimated to cost in the region of 1.3 million dollars.
