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– Government’s Senior Engineer, Walter WillisAfter much criticism from the public concerning the process of garbage collection and transfer to the newly opened Haags/ Bosch dumpsite at Eccles,Curtis Martin Jets Jersey, East Bank Demerara (EBD), operations are in full swing and appear to be “going beyond expectations”.Senior Engineer of the Ministry of Public Works,Lester Hayes Raiders Jersey, Walter Willis, on Friday, last, told Kaieteur News that for the first month that the dumpsite became operational (from February 1,Lawrence Taylor Giants Jersey, 2011) 5,964 tonnes of garbage were collected and taken to the Haags/ Bosch dumpsite, testimony to the fact that there was an average of “just less than 200 tonnes per day”.He stated that for March, 2011,Mark Bavaro Giants Jersey, the amount of garbage increased to 12,042 tonnes, raising the average of garbage per day to a new figure “between 250 to in excess of 400 tonnes per day”.This newspaper understands that presently there are 90 trucks which are used to transport refuse to Haags/ Bosch daily where truck drivers operate for 10 hours each day, beginning their shifts from 07:00hrs (07:00am) to 17:00hrs (05:00pm).Willis explained that “there is no stop for lunch breaks” since there is continuous acceptance for garbage. The garbage collection trucks operate for 600 minutes per day, resulting in the “turn around time” being 6.5 minutes on the dumpsite.“The turn around time is not a delay on the dumpsite,Nolan Cromwell Rams Jersey, in reality it is the turn around time from the dumpsite to the point of collection that takes up a lot of time”.Kaieteur News was told that the distance from Georgetown to Haags/ Bosch is quite a long journey,Dan Fouts Chargers Jersey, especially since many commuters and vehicles use the EBD public road.Sometimes the truck operators suffer a delay when there is a heavy buildup of traffic or long lines due to the fact that the EBD road is a main access road for persons heading towards the highway and on the West Coast and West Bank of Demerara (peak and off peak hours).Willis stated “some of the people who raise concerns now had years to plan this out because it took awhile to plan and execute the establishment of this dumpsite at Haags/ Bosch. They would have known that there would be a long distance”.According to Willis, there are four cells at Haags/ Bosch, but only one cell is in use. He said that each cell is 6.5 hectares or 65,Chris Doleman Vikings Jersey,000 square metres which is also equivalent to 16 acres.Kaieteur News understands that only 15 percent of cell one has been opened to receive garbage,Rocky Bleier Steelers Jersey, the cell being three metres below ground level,Sam Mills Saints Jersey, and would facilitate garbage to be stacked to a maximum of 12 metres above ground level.The senior engineer assured that “there is adequate accommodation in cell one alone for about eight to 10 years of garbage” while stating that there is an “all weather access road to cell one at least” in the event of heavy rainfall so as not to obstruct operations on the site. |
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