Pockwood Pond incinerator scrubber not coming — Fraser
Third District Representative Julian Fraser has insisted that the long-awaited scrubber device for the Pockwood Pond based incinerator is nowhere closer on the horizon for beleaguered residents of that area and said he did not expect it to get fixed.
This is despite recurring claims by Health Minister, Carvin Malone, that the incinerator will be fixed and statements assuring that something was being done about the issue.
“I said, ‘minister, you will be talking about the incinerator when you leave office because it’s not going to happen’. He didn’t believe me,” Fraser said at a press conference yesterday.
Malone previously noted that the device — whose function is to filter the noxious fumes being emitted from the government’s incinerator in Pockwood Pond — would be installed by the end of March 2020.
He told residents at the time that he was given the assurance by the manufacturers of the scrubber device, Consutech that “the scrubber is going to come in the first quarter of 2020″.
But this never came to fruition, despite Malone’s claims that part payment was made for the device years ago.
Fraser said when Malone first got elected into office, he was all excited like any new minister and had an agenda to get things done, one of which was to get the outstanding scrubber for the non-functioning incinerator.
Fraser related that Malone told him that he went to Virginia to speak with representatives of the company who said they were building the scrubber.
But the opposition legislator noted that it was Premier Andrew Fahie who ultimately brought the disappointing news about the scrubber to the fore.
“It’s the Premier who got up afterwards and said the company went defunct, bankrupt, out of business. The scrubber isn’t coming,” Fraser stated.
According to Fraser, the issue with the incinerator takes more than a minister simply talking about the pandemic to get it fixed.
“When you talk about getting it fixed, it means the minister has to get himself down on the ground and get dirty and into the business of making sure that those kinds of things get done,” Fraser argued.
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We paid $500K for Premier Security, gave away $6 mil to fake fishers and farmers, paid another set of thousands for electric buggies to do what the f**k I don’t know, so many millions spent on bulls**t and you couldn’t invest in a new, properly sized incinerator? Let me guess, let’s blame COVID as usual.
Don’t overlook the pool of his full time political consultants and his 24hr personal bodyguards.
So basically, all the upfront monies paid to this company (if not the full balance) is all gone? Why does all BVI governments always find and solicit work from the least capable vendors?
Are you f….and serious. Every week end now it’s smoky week end. Wake up lawyers, there is something we can do for our health.
“it means the minister has to get himself down on the ground and get dirty and into the business of making sure that those kinds of things get done,” Fraser argued, having entirely given up the unkempt litter strewn weed covered district to which he was elected
Both NDP & VIP feeding West Enders a line of BS for over 10 years now.
Any developed country and a lot of developing countries, would fixed this years ago. It’s not rocket science. It’s just matter of caring for the people west of Pockwood Pond. Start caring!
What the BVI needs at Pockwood Pond is an Energy from Waste Plant, so at least there is some benefit from burning trash. We also need a proper recycle center and bulk trash disposal, so that residents stop leaving their bulky trash next to the dumpsters.
The problem is totally out of control, every night and sometimes during the day we are forced to breath in these toxic fumes. Didn’t our esteemed leader tell us his government will provide gas-masks for residents in the West? LOL – still waiting. Only lies and mismanagement of funds. I think I recall an article where The BVI Beacon had previously researched the company to provide the scrubber and expressed their concern that we will never receive it. Wasn’t it the Governments job to do due diligence?
Opposition Leader we need an update on the progress of the new DDM building.
Over a year (or close to it) and all you can see is dirt. This is a +$9mil project that elected officials seem very quiet about.
We can kill two birds with one stone scrap the incinerator and merge solid waste and bvi electricity together and do what New York , Sweden and Germany does, buy a new incinerator that burns the garbage and turn it into electricity the system has filter that the burnt fumes are filtered out before leaving the incinerator and the income can help maintain solid equipment because solid waste don’t bring in any money to it’s department and with the money electricity will be savings from not buying fuel we can afford to slowly convert to solar
Waste to Energy (WTE) plants are a good idea, but the question is whether BVI garbage has enough BTUs to make the project worthwhile. Do we generate enough garbage suitable for incineration? You can’t just burn everything. This means waste segregation, and a plan as to what to do with materials that are not suitable for WTE incinerators. This includes bottles, cans, lumber, tires, rubble etc. Then you have the whole issue of incinerator and scrubber maintenance. Historically, the record is poor in this territory regarding maintenance, making plantmaintenance a challenging issue to say the least. That said, the feasibility of WTE is worth further exploration through consultant(s) and making the report available bro the public. This should be part of an overall waste management strategy.
sounds very constructive ,but our master said no ( KUMBUYAH ) 4 him ? his consultant will advise him on what to do