The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian consortium of waste service providers has submitted a new proposal to take over management and remediation of the New Providence landfill, as the Government bids to decide the facility’s future direction “in the next few weeks”.

Kenred Dorsett, minister of housing and the environment, confirmed to Tribune Business that the Bahamian group had submitted a plan to fully takeover the landfill, its initial discussions with the Government having expanded beyond green and wood waste recycling.

The offer has its genesis in the Waste Resources Development Group (WRDG), which is understood to have expanded beyond its original four members - Wastenot, Bahamas Waste, Impac and Sanitation Services - to now include a total of 10 fully Bahamian-owned companies.

“They have indeed submitted a proposal,” Mr Dorsett said. “Our discussions began on the basis of a green waste content regime, but one of the Government’s technical advisers realised they had a vision for much more than that.”

The consortium’s members contacted by Tribune Business yesterday all declined to comment on the proposal, but this newspaper understands the group is offering to take over management and remediation of the landfill.

It also wants to enhance recycling operations at the Tonique Williams Highway facility to generate cash flow and revenues that will finance much-needed upgrades to the landfill.

Current manager, Renew Bahamas, selected the same recycling model to finance its operations, but it has been starved of income following an early April fire that knocked out its ‘baler’. This has meant it is unable to package any recycled materials for export or local sale.

With recycling its only income stream, and no revenues coming in as a result, Renew Bahamas has little choice but to seek to reduce its costs to try and remain viable.

This led to the termination of 40 of its 120-strong staff back in June, and contacts aware of the current situation at the New Providence landfill suggested that Renew Bahamas appeared to be operating with a ‘skeleton’ workforce as it waited for a restart of recycling operations.

“They’ve basically said that until something happens, they’re not going to put any more money into it,” Tribune Business was told of Renew Bahamas’ position.

Sources familiar with the Bahamian consortium’s plans said they would be “carrying on pretty much what Renew Bahamas is doing, but improving on it”.

Renew Bahamas has been seeking to renegotiate its landfill management contract with the Government, after finding that its business model, which is totally dependent on income generated by its materials recycling facility, is failing and resulting in the company losing “millions of dollars”.

Mr Dorsett yesterday declined to comment on the status of the Government’s negotiations with Renew Bahamas, and what the Bahamian consortium’s revised proposal might mean for the latter’s management contract.

The Minister said his priority was to address the landfill’s remediation, and prevent the outbreak of further fires that threaten the health of surrounding residents and workplaces.

“In a few short weeks, the Government will determine the way forward,” Mr Dorsett said. “Mr priority is to deal with the remediation plan for the landfill. We have now received the final remediation plan and assessment, which I have now presented to Cabinet.

“Once that’s dealt with at the Cabinet level, I will be able to speak to it publicly. That is the priority right now; to focus on the engineering report and assessment that was commissioned by the Government.”

Mr Dorsett said the landfill remediation plan was now being “vetted” by the Christie Cabinet prior to its approval.

Pressed further on Renew Bahamas, the Minister would only say: “I’ll report to the country on all these matters once the Cabinet has addressed this.”

The submission of the Bahamian consortium’s proposal comes against the backdrop of suggestions that the Government has been seeking ‘Plan B’ options in case negotiations with Renew Bahamas fail to produce a satisfactory result.

Gerhard Beukes, Renew Bahamas’ former chief executive and still-60 per cent majority shareholder, did not return Tribune Business voice mails seeking comment yesterday.

Michael Cox, Renew Bahamas’ current chief executive, could not be contacted for comment, with his cell phone message box said to be full.