TT drowning in garbage

THIS country is producing too much garbage and should reduce the amount by half, urged a parliamentary committee, the Joint Select Committee on Finance and Legal Affairs in a recent report on waste management.

The country produces about 2,000 tonnes of waste each day, the report said.

It lamented, “the high levels of waste generated per capita in Trinidad and Tobago, the unsanitary and indiscriminate disposal of waste at the nation's

landfills, the disposal of bio-medical waste at the nation's landfills, and the non-recycling of plastics and other recyclables.”

“The 2010 Waste Characterisation and Centroid Study estimated that 700,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste is generated annually and approximately 95 per cent of that waste is disposed at the three landfills managed by SWMCOL (Solid Waste Management Company.)”

The main types of waste were industrial waste (233,000 tonnes), plastics (excluding beverage containers, 89,000 tonnes), organic food waste (88,000 tonnes), paper (87,000 tonnes), construction waste (75,000 tonnes) and glass (47,000 tonnes.)

The JSC said the Planning Ministry must create a plan to cut the country’s waste by 50 per cent. It also urged a 35 per cent reduction in the amount of persistent organic pollutants released from garbage.

The report said each TT citizen generates on average1.5 kilogrammes of waste each day, ahead of the average for Latin America and the Caribbean of 1.1 kilogrammes. “Waste generation volumes have been increasing and are further projected to consistently increase (without) waste minimisation policies.”

SWMCOL highlighted the disposal of bio-medical waste from hospitals (such as human body parts, faeces, drugs and syringes. “While biomedical waste should be disposed via incineration at the nation's hospitals, in actuality, due to the lack of checks and balances to monitor medical institutions, medical waste was disposed of at landfill sites.”

The JSC urged that a new body be set up to coordinate waste management by the various ministries and municipal corporations, the Waste Management Authority, whose functions should meanwhile be done by the SWMCOL’s Waste Management Unit when it gets fully staffed.

The report urged a deposit-refund system for beverage containers (plastic bottles), while noting the $20 environmental tyre tax on each car tire imported to TT since 2017.

“Municipal solid waste is collected at the curb-side of households in a co-mingled state and the main method of waste disposal remains that of land filling.” Lamenting the current focus on disposing of co-mingled waste rather than on waste minimisation and diversion, the report urged SWMCOL to create a draft policy for the segregation of waste at residential level. “In the absence of modern waste disposal facilities, the segregation of solid waste at landfills in Trinidad is virtually impossible.”

While noting efforts to recycle plastics and car tyres, the report chided, “Notwithstanding, it is somewhat alarming that in 2019, the basic segregation of waste and recovery of recyclables is in it embryonic phase in Trinidad.” The report called for a new, sanitary-engineered landfill at Forres Park and remediation of the Guanapo Landfill. New laws are needed for recyclable waste such as tyres, e-waste and organic waste. The report also called for a composting facility to process organic waste which constitutes 27 per cent of solid waste in TT. The report said six inches of dirt is needed to cover waste at landfills and then compress it, but this is not done due to a lack of resources. SWMCOL needs an extra $120 million per year to do this at the country’s three landfills, the report added.