By Robert Andre Emmanuel
St John’s Rural West Member of Parliament (MP) Richard Lewis has raised environmental concerns about the proximity of the site of the new Five Islands Primary School to the Cooks Landfill, even as government officials broke ground for the modern educational facility yesterday.
“The issue in this community, our number one issue, is the landfill. There’s methane gas on the ground and it burns from time to time,” Lewis said in an interview with Observer media following the ground breaking ceremony.
Lewis, who lives close to the landfill, described recurring fires that require emergency responses. “From time to time, we see the fire trucks coming up and one might believe that someone is having those fires in the community but it’s not; it is the landfill, and the smoke affects the people of Five Islands, affects the students at the current facility.
“Imagine moving it closer to landfill… you can actually smell the fumes coming from the landfill,” Lewis said.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Health, Senator Michael Joseph responded to these concerns, revealing that the government has already taken steps to address the landfill issues, including the removal of persons from the area which he said the government has suspected of “intentionally” starting fires.
Joseph said that there haven’t been any fires at the landfill in the last 10 months and added, “The government invested $2 million last year in additional equipment. This year we’re going to invest an additional $1 million.”
Joseph disclosed that the government has offered a three-year contract to a UK consultant, with experience managing a modern landfill facility in Essex, to modernize the landfill at Cooks.
“He’s going to be implementing varying strategies to deal with our leakage, our soil compaction, waste diversion,” he explained.
Both MP Lewis and the Minister of State suggested other strategies to address the situation with Lewis proposing the use of methane gas in the area for energy production and investing in tire shredders.
“The material can be used on our roads and for building, and so I’m hoping that we can sit at the table, have a conversation, and look at the comprehensive approach to maintaining the landfill,” he said.
Looking beyond environmental concerns, Senator Joseph also revealed early discussions about establishing a health clinic at the UWI campus to serve both the student population and community members.
