Early warning system helped with dumpsite fire
Residents woke up on Saturday to massive plumes of smoke emanating from the Pockwood Pond dump site, but officials indicated that an early warning system installed at the site likely played a crucial role in preventing a potential disaster when the fire erupted there before dawn.
The Department of Waste Management received notification of a fire at the dump site around 4 am. The VI Fire & Rescue Services were immediately informed and worked to extinguish the blaze.
“The fire was likely caused by older garbage heat which came into contact with combustibles. The combustion of the materials could be heard on the site and spread to the entire garbage load, which fueled the quick acceleration of the fire,” Waste Management Director Marcus Solomon stated.
Solomon explained that the dumpsite tipping area caught fire, and the fire rapidly extended to the nearby BVI electricity plant. The Director urged the public to take necessary health precautions and avoid the smoke where possible.
“Because the incinerator is currently inoperable, we are having issues with processing the waste in a timely manner, which is contributing to garbage staying in the tipping area longer than desirable,” the Director added. “We are working on waste management strategies to improve the way we process our waste, but we still need assistance from the community to help avert future occurrences”.
Public Must Recycle Waste
Meanwhile, the Department is now working on much-needed equipment and improvements to the current infrastructure at the dumpsite, as well as the training and monitoring of contractors. Solomon emphasized the need for the public to play their part.
“We are pleading with the community to reduce, repurpose, and reuse to assist with decreasing waste generation. We also want them to stop putting hazardous and flammable materials into the waste stream,” Solomon said.
The flare-up at the dumpsite means that the dumpsite will no longer be accepting any garbage until further notice. However, persons with the ability to reach the top of the hill will still be allowed access to the site.
The Department stated that it continues to work on best practice strategies to manage waste throughout the territory.
Copyright 2024 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
BVI is a joke
LOOK HOW WE FKD UP A WHOLE HILLSIDE
While I agree recycling is critical, I will also overemphasize the need to fix the damn incinerator. The Government created this monster. Over ten…fifteen years I am hearing that they need a scrubber. Did it arrive? Who is managing this debacle? It is a GREAT INJUTICE to the people of the western side of the island and to our neighbours in the USVI.
There is no Scrubber to be had. Hasn’t been for years and will have none in the future. The manufacturer no longer makes that model or that scrubber probably. That was finally confessed by a previous Minister of Communications and Works. All this smoke about parts coming in December, then first quarter, then second quarter is just that, smoke. My first thought on Saturday was they were trying to burn down the incinerator building again. Frankly they might as well just burn the thing down and bull doze it into the ground. Their friends next door can easily do that for them. Then, matter done. Burn everything up on the hill they way they’ve been doing now for donkey years. I’m so sick of all the lies and bamboozling for all these 20 or more years. Disgusting.
On Saint Barthélemy, the circular economy approach in waste management involves energy recovery from household waste. This is achieved through the installation of advanced waste treatment facilities, including boilers and furnaces, which can convert waste into energy. The energy generated, in the form of steam, is then used to power a neighboring seawater desalination plant. This system exemplifies a sustainable cycle where waste is not merely disposed of, but transformed into a valuable resource, thereby reducing environmental impact and promoting resource efficiency.
What f**king early warning system? The entire f**king place almost burnt to the ground and these people here talking s**t?
Its when 100 people in West End start coughing at the same time.
I could not have said it better myself. Ooh, look, FIRE AND SMOKE ON A HILL ABOUT TO BURN DOWN BVI ELECTRICITY, let me wait for the early warning system just to make sure. Look, people voted for clowns and they getting a free circus everyday. They were warned.
it is not funny now. It never was. Stop handing money to friends that know nothing an employ people like they do in St Barths and other developed countries and fix it.
And where do we dispose of these flameable hazardous materials? You call solid waste they cant tell you – you call every department you can find and nobody can tell you. So – where does it go if not the landfill???