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Remarks - Project Manager/Solid Waste at the launch of the

ISWMP

Kids, Timmy Turtle can help you to learn and teach others about solid waste management Welcome Remarks delivered by Mr. Ricardo Marshall, Project Manager – Solid Waste Project at the launch of the storybook “Timmy Turtle and the Litterbugs” – Wednesday March 15th, 2006 at the Turtle Beach Resort The ISWMP is an infrastructural programme critical to the social and economic development of Barbados. The main objective of this Programme is to develop a modern, dependable and efficient waste management system which is accessible to all citizens, would protect the environment, improve the standard of public health in Barbados and foster the participation of the private sector in a structured manner. The Solid Waste Project Unit has responsibility for implementing the Integrated Solid Waste Management Programme. The Programme can be divided into two (2) Components. The Physical components represent the engineered and built features and consist of the National Sanitary Landfill at Greenland, a Waste Management Centre at Vaucluse (comprised of a Transfer Station with Materials Recovery, a Chemical Waste Storage Facility and an In-Vessel Composting Facility), that are expected to be constructed by 2007 and the Bulky Waste Disposal Facility at Bagatelle, along with the upgrade of the road infrastructure to service the facilities. The non-physical component of the ISWMP includes the development of Solid Waste Management Policies for Barbados, an Institutional Strengthening Programme for key governmental and private sector entities, an Economics aspect with a focus on Recycling, a Legislative aspect to support the physical and non-physical components and an Education and Public Awareness Programme – a small component of which has brought us here today. While the Solid Waste Project Unit is responsible for the development and initial implementation of the Programme, the Project Unit cannot achieve the objective acting independently. It is very important that we have all of the stakeholders involved if we are to succeed. Indeed many of our key public and private sector partners are represented in the audience today. In many ways the ISWMP is about partnerships. There must be partnerships between public sector agencies, public and private sector, between private sector agencies and indeed both the public and private sectors must engage the NGO community, the service groups and individuals if we are to succeed. In 1994 Barbados generated approximately 300 tonnes of garbage per day, by 2005 the number had risen to a staggering 900 tonnes per day. So that even as we have expanded some recycling programmes by as much as 200% our waste generation has risen by over 300%. In the minds of many persons the Government agencies should provide facilities for the disposal of our waste, and the private sector should seek to reduce the volumes they produce and look for opportunities to utilize waste as a resource. Indeed under the ISWMP this is exactly what is happening. We have spoken of the components of the ISWMP that the Government is putting in place. The Private Sector has also been very active. For example private sector companies collect approximately 60% of the waste collected in Barbados. In addition the recycling sector has been expanding in this country with major players such as B’s Bottle Depot, Ace Recycling, Duraplast, Dice-A-Bed, Grorganic, C & R Recycling, Waste Recyclers (B’Dos) Limited, Machinery and Allied Engineering Services Limited, Claytone Products Inc., Roberts Manufacturing, NativeSun NRG, Tropical Batteries, Recycling Preparation Inc., and others pursuing recycling activities in areas including PET, HDPE and LDPE plastics, glass, paper, yard waste, construction and demolition wastes, offal and abattoir wastes, used automotive oils, used vegetable, oils used automotive batteries, and ferrous and non-ferrous metals. People also call for school involvement. Look around you; you can see that the schools are involved. Indeed the Solid Waste Project Unit has worked with the Pan-American Health Organization, the Ministry of Education and a local consultant on the development and placement in all primary and secondary schools the document “A Guide to the Integration of Solid Waste Management into the School Curriculum”. This allows teachers in all subject areas to teach solid waste management principles and issues while still covering their curriculum requirements. What of the individual? Indeed it is through our own individual actions that after all is said and done the most change can be realised. It is through our own purchasing practices and disposal habits that we can effect change. We need to see waste as a resource and seek to minimize the quantities we send to be landfilled daily. We have seen the involvement of the public sector, the private sector and the work of individuals as we seek another way, in the form of this book being launched today, to involve the youth. Take up the challenge as an individual and let us collectively reduce the volumes and toxicity of the waste we produce. The Solid Waste Project Unit and all of our partner agencies look forward to working with each of you in this regard. Thank you.