Smoke-free zone! SWD ends dump site burning
The Ministry of Health has resolved the long-standing issue of dump site fires in the British Virgin Islands, with officials confirming that no fires have occurred at landfills in Tortola and Virgin Gorda since January 2024.
Director of Waste Management Marcus Solomon credited new protocols and site management systems for eliminating burning at the dumps.
“We have no more smoke. What we have there, we have a system in place to manage our dump sites now. So if you go back to from since January 2024, both Virgin Gorda and Tortola, we have had no fires at any of those facilities,” Solomon told ZBVI Radio.
The Pockwood Pond facility had plagued nearby communities for years, with residents frequently raising concerns about health risks and environmental hazards due to persistent smoke. In 2023, BVINews.com reported multiple garbage fires, triggering air quality alerts and public complaints.
To address the core problem, the government contracted a U.S.-based company to conduct a full diagnostic assessment of the non-functional incinerator at Pockwood Pond.
“We successfully chose a company from the [United] States, which has provided this type of service to 50 countries, and they would have produced a report. That report is before the Ministry and probably is going to go before Cabinet,” Solomon explained.
The report outlines several options for restoring the incinerator and proposes alternative waste-processing solutions. Solomon noted that a cost-benefit analysis is underway to determine the best course of action.
Managing derelict vehicles
Solomon also highlighted ongoing efforts to manage derelict vehicles across the territory.
“The first thing we are trying to do is similar to what we did in 2023, is clean up the site, export all the derelicts that we can find… and export it out to a country that can deal with those derelict vehicles in an environmentally sound manner,” he stated.
A $110,000 contract has been awarded to Shaquille Stoutt of ENS Excavation Trucking to process and remove about 500 derelict vehicles from Havers.
Health Minister Vincent Wheatley welcomed the initiative, emphasizing that abandoned vehicles pose both environmental and aesthetic concerns in communities.
Authorities now hope that improved landfill management and progress on the incinerator will prevent further landfill fires and promote a cleaner, healthier environment across the BVI.
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I think Mr. Solomon and the others at Pockwood Pond have done a fantastic job of resolving this health threatening and embarrassing problem of smoke from the dump. I can not thank them enough for their work resolving this. I am starting to wonder however if it is necessary to bring back the incinerator. It after all will generate smoke. Most large cities have stopped using incinerators and just landfill (or where possible) recycle their waste.
For vehicles that are derelict, they can become a prime source of reef reconstruction, it will cost less and the problem will be fixed, done with.
Moreover, the beneficial effects will be a return to great coral reefs, shelter and propagation of many marine life of all sorts, especially fish that has long since disappared from the immediate surrounding waters.
But as with everything else politically, if there is not a monetary kick back for corrupt politicans, nothing sensible and beneficial to the larger spectrum gets done.
We need more US solutions to many of our issues, whether we like it or not the reality is this—The US, by virtue of its sheer size and scale, has had no choice but to develop systems that are straightforward, effective, and accessible to the many, not just the privileged few. And that pragmatism, that focus on getting things done in the most efficient way possible, is exactly why so much of the world’s innovation comes from the U.S. They don’t overcomplicate—they simplify, they streamline, and they ensure that solutions work for the majority.
Now, contrast that with the UK, where bureaucracy has too often been wielded not as a tool for progress, but as a shield for those already in power. The process is deliberately layered, the language unnecessarily complex—because when governance is difficult to navigate, it becomes easier for the elite to maintain control. Try navigating the BVI legal system or any Govenrment process that requires an application and approval and this becomes glaringly obvious
Solomon and team deserve congratulations. They have done well to get that major public health issue under control.
Great. A new Government sanctioned eyesore in Havers. Look foward to reading about how it fits in to the Tourism plan that is soon to come.