How landfill fires will be prevented as all BVI’s garbage now gets buried
By Fitsroy Randall, BVI News Staff
Now that the territory’s lone incinerator at Pockwood Pond is completely inoperable, all the territory’s garbage must now be buried. But Manager of the Department of Waste Management, Neville Allen Sr has said this will be done in a way that prevents a repeat of 2018 when trash buried at the Cox Heath Dump on Tortola spontaneously combusted and burned for several weeks.
Allen said the territory’s collection of garbage will still go to the incinerator plant before being transported to a landfill area located on a hill just above the Pockwood Pond-based waste facility.
“Through the use of trucks, we would spread the garbage out and cover with two or three inches of topsoil. If we leave it open, it will just catch fire and spontaneous smoking would occur and that would affect people in the western area,” Allen Sr said.
“Because of the dirt on top, it helps to prevent oxygen from getting to the garbage because the soil essentially prevents it from breathing. If it is in the open, it would actually ignite, but once it is covered, the possibility of a fire is small,” the Waste Management boss said.
Allen noted that the most important thing to aid in the combustion of garbage is oxygen and once that is eliminated from the equation through burying, then everything should be good.
Another landfill fire would be bad
He said a fire at the landfill could be bad for the health of the workers, the people in the surrounding area and for people located as far as St Thomas and St John in the neighbouring US Virgin Islands as they have complained about the smoke from landfill fires previously.
Allen also mentioned that the Department of Waste Management always tries to keep the fire department on standby in case of a fire as garbage fires are usually worse than other fires. He said once the garbage ignites, it is very difficult to get out.
Meanwhile, the Waste Management boss told BVI News that he expects the incinerator to be offline for a few months. he made it clear that the building at the waste facility will not be used as a holding area during this time.
“No garbage will be kept on the second-floor because that is where the garbage was placed before and what happened was that the garbage was sitting there it and it started to get warm which cause the flames to ignite,” Allen said while alluding to Monday’s fire that gutted the plant started.
“The person [who witnessed the plant fire] said he heard a huge explosion and when he went there, he saw a big fire. Though we had fire hydrant and hoses, we couldn’t get it under control. So, all the trucks are going to take the garbage straight to the [landfill] site. The garbage trucks that can’t go up the hill will have to dump it in the yard and the other truck will take it up, dump it, and bury it,” he said.
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Ummmm..
That’s not entirely true on how to prevent landfill fires. Explosive gases, especially methane, are generated in a landfill due to decaying trash. If those gases are not properly vented, they continue to expand and build up pressure. With the right amount of heat, the flashpoint is lowered and the gases will ignite. Then you have an underground fire that is extremely difficult to extinguish.
Sound familiar?
Be prepared for more landfill fires in the near future
Exactlyyyyy. That is why the government does have To bring in consultant after consultants because the people we have in place to lead these departments are are plain out Moomoo! Mr Neville Allen director of waste management are you serious? I weep for this territory Jim
Whoa:does the garbage not produce methane, and is it not more combustible than oxygen.
Oxygen is not combustible. It’s in the air. That said fires are a reaction between the fuel and oxygen. No oxygen = no fire. That said, entirely correct that garbage as it decomposes produces methane, which is a flammable gas, and can explode if not vented properly
Everything under Carvin is a mess. Everything. Check it out. – hospital , covid management, solid waste and incinerator. He has poor management skills.
The entire vip government is a mess mehson,no wonder the bvi is in a mess and is a mess.
What could possibly go wrong?
With the Government revenues that allowed annual government budgets in the hundreds of millions (I repeat, annual) since the 1990s how can it be that the BVI has such a woeful waste disposal system. What did tax payers get for all that expenditure each year?
It is concerning that our waste disposal is so bad, when tourism is said to be important.
This temporary waste solution on Tortola is even worse than the third world standards for waste management.
No wonder the place keeps burning down what utter Poppycock
Only the ignorant will believe mixed garbage won’t rot and produce methane. In Europe they extract the gas and use it to produce electricity . Why the lies or are they that dumb!
Great idea to produce electricity with extracting the gas. Use it for something useful, lowering the dependency on fossil fuel. Another idea… recycle. Monies spent in fixing the unfixable can be used to establish a recycling system for the island, which is too small for the amount of garbage generated.
Couple good rains will wash away 2-3 inches of topsoil, which could be used elsewhere for agricultural purposes. Reality is, they have no plan, the hillside will burn.
A solid clay cap, with gas venting and groundwater monitoring wells is needed.
Price of real estate west and over St. John about to change.
What happened to Solid Waste Management? Not because one as an Elective Official was appointed Minister means they know about the Subject at hand. Let the experience and educated Officials knowledgeable of Solid Waste do their Job.
BVInews you could have at least give us fair warning that you were starting a comedy section on your website. This one is really good, keep the jokes coming!!
It’s all so horribly inept. When will government wake up and spend some money on this. If not, please hand over to RDA…
A BUNCH AH WASTE OVER WASTE…FROM THE MINISTER DOWN…SET AH WASTE A TIMES
This problem with garbage disposal is a good opportunity to really focus on greener waste management.
All vegetable matter, including cardboard and paper should be taken to a composting area provided by government.
Government should help install the recycle bins and have a big drive to promote this. Are their any farmers with pigs that can use left over food for pig feed. Reduce waste and recycle!! Burying it will cause big problems.
Maybe hold a webex meeting like they did for Labour so the ministers can listen to the public suggestions and help to be part of the solution
This problem with garbage disposal is a good opportunity to really focus on greener waste management.
All vegetable matter, including cardboard and paper should be taken to a composting area provided by government.
Government should help install the recycle bins and have a big drive to promote this. Are their any farmers with pigs that can use left over food for pig feed. Reduce waste and recycle!! Burying it will cause big problems.
Maybe hold a webex meeting like they did for Labour so the ministers can listen to the public suggestions and help to be part of the solution
Buried trash also get in the water system.