A.S.R./B.S.I. Gives G.O.B. 25 Acres of Land for Transfer Station
Twenty-five acres of land was gifted to the Government of Belize by American Sugar Refinery/Belize Sugar Industries this morning during a short land transfer ceremony at Tower Hill. Located on the Chan Pine Ridge Road in the Orange Walk District, the piece of land is currently being used as a dumpsite by the Orange Walk Town Council. After much dialogue A.S.R./B.S.I. decided to gift the piece of land to the government for the construction of a state-of-the-art transfer station and solid waste management facility. The transfer station is expected to enable the town council to efficiently dispose the town’s garbage. News Five’s Hipolito Novelo was at Tower Hill this morning and has the following report.
Kevin Bernard
Kevin Bernard, Mayor, Orange Walk Town
“This site as it is today has outlived the purpose for which it has been used. Actually, it has for a long time. As a council, efficiency in everything we do, including the disposal and collection of garbage, has always been a priority. We have had our challenges in this regard using the existing site.”
Hipolito Novelo, Reporting
For many years, with permission from A.S.R./B.S.I., the Orange Walk Town Council has been using this piece of land on the Chan Pine Ridge road, in the outskirts of the town, to dispose of garbage. The garbage collected on a daily basis is mounted and incinerated by the town council’s employees. When burnt, plastics release dioxins into the environment and dumpsites like these are often the worst culprits, due to incomplete burning. The site is heaven for the vultures but a severe health hazards for the employees who enter the dumpsite who make sure that much of the garbage is burnt. But in 2018, the dumpsite is no longer adequate for the disposal of solid waste.
Sean Lichty Sr.
Sean Lichty Sr., Corporate Director for Health and Safety, A.S.R./B.S.I.
“Solid waste disposal is a very near and dear subject to my heart. I have seen in the other industries, I have been in the impact of improper disposal and the effect that can have on the environment, water and surrounding communities. So bringing this idea to fruition today, I am extremely happy to be there. I am extremely happy that we can be part of the solution and create this collaboration.”
The site, a piece of land measuring twenty five acres, will be transformed into a state of the art transfer station and solid management facility but before construction could commence, this morning A.S.R./B.S.I. officially handed over the title for the land to the Government of Belize.
Percival Cho
Percival Cho, C.E.O., Ministry of Fisheries, Forestry, the Environment, and Sustainable Development
“Municipalities in the south and north of the country will have the facility they need to house and transfer waste to the sanitary landfill thereby forgoing the need for individual dumpsites around each municipality. This will have measurable benefits to human health in the municipality and of course the wellbeing of the environment is also of utmost concern for us. This land transfer ceremony being held today is for you all to witness the symbolic transfer for twenty five acres of land from A.S.R./B.S.I. to the Belize Solid Waste Management and Authority for the purpose of housing the Transfer Station which is to serve the Orange Walk Town and the surrounding communities. This is a very important event and marks a proud moment in Belize’s history where private and public entities have come together to collaborate for better waste management and protect of our environment and human health.”
C.E.O. in the Ministry of Fisheries, Forestry, the Environment, and Sustainable Development Dr. Percival Cho says pollution control and waste management continues to be of major concern on a global scale. When completed the transfer station and solid management facility will immediately enable the efficient disposal of the town’s garbage. The construction of the transfer station in Orange Walk is part of the ten point two million dollars Solid Waste Management Two Project funded by the Inter-American Development Bank.
Tyronne Chimilio
Tyronne Chimilio, Communications Officer, Belize Solid Waste Management Authority
“The land has been entrusted to us to execute the Belize Solid Waste Management Project. It is an extension of project one and we are about to close down the open dumpsite in Orange Walk and construct a transfer station that would be servicing this community. At the transfer station of course we will receive the waste. It is the same process like the other one. We are going to extract the recycling material and the waste will be long haul from the transfer station in Orange Walk to Mile twenty four at the regional sanitary landfill. Today makes a very important event for us because this has been in the pipeline for a long time and of course with the newly design transfer station, it is able to facilitate resource recovery of recycle material which is very important to the success of this project.”
The project commenced in 2016 and will see the construction of six transfer station across the country. Reporting for News Five, I am Hipolito Novelo.
