The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian consortium yesterday said it was eagerly hoping to obtain a Letter of Intent (LOI) from the Government so it can proceed with plans to take over the New Providence landfill’s management, where conditions are said to be “getting more dangerous by the day”.

The Waste Resources Development Group (WRDG), a consortium of 10 Bahamian waste management groups, told Tribune Business in a statement it had been informed that its proposal - submitted four months ago - “is being considered favourably”.

It indicated, though, that it now needed an LOI, or some form of agreement in principle, to proceed further with any management takeover bid, including the development of master and business plans for the Tonique Williams Highway site.

WRDG, whose members include Wastenot, BISX-listed Bahamas Waste, Impac and Sanitation, pledged that if successful its ownership would be structured similar to that of Arawak Port Development Company (APD).

BISX-listed APD is owned 40 per cent by the shipping/port services industry and 40 per cent by the Government, with the remaining 20 per cent in the hands of public investors following the 2012 initial public offering (IPO).

“The shareholding of the company will be made up of the Bahamian waste companies, the Government and the general public, very like the Arawak Port set-up,” WRDG said, meaning that Bahamians will have an opportunity to obtain equity ownership.

The Bahamian consortium is seeking to ‘fill the gap’ created after Renew Bahamas, the landfill’s former manager, suspended its services in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.

The company exercised the ‘force majeure’ clause in its contract, which effectively frees parties from their liabilities/obligations when an extraordinary event, over which they have no control, arises such as a hurricane.

Kenred Dorsett, minister of the environment and housing, who has ministerial responsibility for the landfill, subsequently told Tribune Business he was seeking legal advice from the Attorney General’s Office on how to respond to Renew Bahamas’ move.

However, little has been heard or said publicly over what will happen next at the New Providence landfill, although the Department of Environmental Health Services (DEHS) has continued to operate and manage the facility in Renew Bahamas’ stead.

Mr Dorsett did not return Tribune Business messages seeking comment yesterday, while neither Michael Cox, Renew Bahamas’ chief executive, nor his predecessor, Gerhard Beukes, could be contacted.

However, one source familiar with the situation at the landfill, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there appeared to “be a bit of cat and mouse” going on between the Government and Renew Bahamas, with neither “wanting to move first”.

The latter is understood to still be blaming the Christie administration for its current predicament, while “the Government doesn’t seem to move”.

“The DEHS is in,” the source said. “The landfill is in a bad condition. They still don’t have the proper equipment, a proper compactor.

“They’re doing the best they can with what they have. They’ve been kind of thrown back in, and are resentful because they’ve been kept out of the loop. It’s getting more dangerous up there by the day.”

The source said this was because ‘dry season’, which peaked around the New Year period, was fast approaching. This coupled, with questions over the level of remediation and maintenance at the landfill, meant that nearby New Providence communities were once again likely to be exposed to fires and associated noxious fumes.

Pointing to “subterranean fires” caused by combustible materials and flammable gases, the source said: “These are fires that are known of that flare, and if you are not on them right away, you get a huge burn out. We’re set up again for that circumstance.

“We really have to pay attention to the condition the landfill’s in now, how waste is placed into it, that we make the best use of air space and ensure it’s not building on unstable ground.”

The WRDG consortium yesterday said the integrated waste management plan it has presented to the Government is designed to address these challenges.

It revealed that the proposal calls for the recycling of plastics, paper, metals and green waste, and for dealing with construction and demolition debris, under “a comprehensive management” plan for the New Providence landfill.

“This is the latest proposal the Bahamian companies have submitted, either individually or as a group, over an eight-year period, all compiled with the assistance of international professionals,” the WRDG group said.

“We have been assured that our proposal is being considered favourably, and we are now awaiting a Letter of Intent (LOI). Once we have the LOI, we can proceed to finish the Master Plan with our international and local advisors.

“The Master Plan is a blueprint for how the future waste will be placed in the landfill, how to increase the diversion and recycling of the greatest amount of waste, and which technologies to incorporate later down the road to turn more of our waste into a resource.”

Tribune Business understands that WRDG and its members are keen to obtain an LOI, or some form of agreement in principle, as a “guarantee” that their efforts will not be in vain.

Numerous Bahamian companies and groups have previously invested much time and money in developing proposals to take over the New Providence landfill’s management, only for these to be either turned down or make no progress with the Government.

As a result, they are now “gun shy” about proceeding with extensive investment without some kind of encouragement from the Government.

Tribune Business understands that the WRDG group has already developed an extensive business plan for the landfill, and has UK engineering firm, Mott McDonald, on stand-by to perform further work once it gets a ‘go-ahead’ signal from the Government.

It was emphasised that WRDG’s plan is much more extensive than that for Renew Bahamas, which was totally reliant on the proceeds from selling recycled materials to finance its operations and machinery rentals, plus generate a profit.

The decline in global commodity prices undermined that plan, and WRDG said of its proposal: “The day-to-day landfill management will be done by qualified international waste professionals, with instructions to pass their knowledge on to qualified young Bahamians for the future management of this and other landfills in our country.”

Promising that it would tackle the concerns of communities near to the landfill, WRDG added: “We want to reassure the residents who live in close proximity to the landfill (Gladstone Road), as well as those living further away in the Carmichael Road and the Cable Beach areas, which are most affected by smoke and fumes emanating from the landfill fires, that our first steps after assuming control of the New Providence landfill will be to work on the many festering subterranean fires and to install a comprehensive fire fighting system.

“We are all Bahamians, we live here and, like everybody, we suffer the suffocating and poisonous fumes that billow from the ‘dump’ when it is on fire. We worry daily about the badly compacted material causing injury to our drivers and landfill personnel. We worry about the diminishing capacity of the landfill, a landfill which can last much longer with proper management and a closely followed Master Plan.

“We worry about the effect the poisonous gases are having on our fellow Bahamians, and our foreign investors and guests who have come to enjoy our pristine environment. We worry about the contribution we are making to global warming, and we worry about the damage our reputation as sensible, caring and environmentally conscious people is taking on the global stage. We’re better than this; let’s get it done.”