The Tribune

WASTE management is weighing on the minds of young Bahamian scientists.

From recycling water, plastic and aluminum to hydropower and forestry, what to do with all of that garbage the country produces was a common theme at the fourth annual Earth Day enviro-science competition hosted by Romauld Ferreira, of Ferreira & Company, in Nassau on Friday.

“We want to inspire you to greatness,” Mr Ferreira, an environmental consultant and attorney, told the students who were gathered at the Paul Farquharson Conference Centre at Royal Bahamas Police Force headquarters. “You all have gifts to give, you all have things to share and our country needs it.”

Emphasising that the Bahamas stands to lose the most when it comes to climate change, Mr Ferreira said that the mission of the competition is to encourage young Bahamians to take the lead on environmental issues for the sake of their own future.

“As a generation of young people, it’s what you do and the creative energies you unleash that are going to help us all,” said Ferreira, who is also a director of environmental movement Save The Bays. “You are the leaders in the environment who are going to solve some of these problems we have. You have a deeper destiny. Your day is coming.”

The most pressing problem, according to most students, is the constant threat of toxic fumes that are frequently spewed from the New Providence landfill. Images of black smoke billowing out of the Harrold Road dump site were featured prominently on several displays.

“Hazardous fumes [affect] not only people with asthma, but causes thinning of the ozone layer from greenhouse gases leading to global warming,” said one young female student from Central Andros High whose team’s project centred on collecting and burning garbage and then utilising the steam to create energy.

A student from St Augustine’s College pointed to the financial threat the fires pose. “Let’s say tourists are on the beach, relaxing, and they see this huge cloud of black smoke … they want to leave. It affects the economy,” he said. As a solution, the St Augustine’s team proposed using drones to circle the landfill and identify smoke. Once detected, a “terra toxin taker” would be released on the ground to vacuum up the smoky air which would then be filtered through charcoal lime and sand to emit clean air.

St Anne’s School’s display included a life-size cutout of a glittery, blond super hero dubbed the “International Bahamas CFL Hero”, a caped crusader standing sentry over a bright blue recycling receptacle, beckoning passers-by to deposit their used CLF light bulbs into the bin.

Entries in this year’s competition included:

C R Walker Senior High: Solar distillation - Water purification.

Aquinas College: Deforestation: Roots for Restoration - air layering allows plants to be regenerated more quickly than from seeds, allowing for a shorter maturation process.

Central Andros: Garbage is Power - garbage is collected and burned with the steam being converted into energy.

Eight Mile Rock: Forestry - collected soil samples from industrial areas and non-industrial areas to determine acidity of soil caused by industrial pollution.

Mount Carmel Preparatory: Renewable Energy - energy created using hydropower powered by turbines.

St Augustine’s College: Air Pollution - in order to manage the fires at the local landfill, drones would be used to circle above the dump. A ‘terra toxin’ taker would then be released to vacuum and filter the toxic air ultimately emitting clean air.

St Anne’s School: Solid Waste Management - benefits of recycling CFL light bulbs, which contain significant levels of mercury.

Bahamas Academy: Solid Waste Management - creation of a material recycling facility (MARF) at the public landfill which sorts garbage to reuse materials.

The winners were Mount Carmel Preparatory.