Luganville Municipality has begun the search for a new site
for the Municipal dump. The dump, which started life as a quarry used
by the Americans during the war, became the dumping ground for the town
after the war. Nearly 70 years later it is running out of space.
The Municipal Council recently got a new staff member to
help them with their Waste Management Plan. Sean Toland, a VSA (Volunteer
Service Abroad) Volunteer, joined as a Geotechnical Adviser for 6 months
to give advice to the council on closing the town dump safely and locating a
new site for a new engineered landfill to be opened.
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| Access road blocked to the town dump. |
The Municipal dump closure and the opening of a new landfill
are seen as an important step in the Sanma Province and Luganville
Municipality Waste Management Plan 2013-2016. These schemes are among many
projects that will take place over the next three years to help control waste
in the province.
“The problem with open dumping of waste at the Municipal
dump is that it is a human health hazard as well as a cause of environmental
damage. It might be seen as the cheap option but in the long term it can be
more expensive as it’s a breeding ground for flies, mosquitoes and rats
which can spread disease to humans” said Mr. Toland. He said that the burning
of waste onsite means that the air quality is lower in the area and can cause
more health issues.
The Municipal dump entrance has recently been blocked by waste
so that it has been piling up along the access road, making it hard to get
access. A man with a bulldozer was called in to tidy the site. This took 3
days to clear and made more room in the pit. A plan was put in place for the
site gatekeeper to use so that the dump can last until the new landfill is built.
Now that the site is tidier the council is asking people not to dump waste
at the site entrance by the main road and to follow the gatekeeper’s
instructions.
Andrew Ala, Environmental Health Officer at Luganville
Municipality, responsible for managing this project says that “the new landfill
will be built better than the current town dump. There will be better
control of waste onsite by compacting and covering it regularly
to stop pests feeding and breeding in it. No burning of waste will be allowed
onsite and rainwater will be better controlled to reduce pollution offsite”.
The Municipality hopes to have recycling and composting facilities once the new
site is up and running.
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| Clearing some space to the entrance of the dump |
Mr. Toland has been busy looking for a suitable site in the
Luganville area for the new landfill and has been getting to see a lot of
South Santo at the same time! He would like to find a site with some good local
red soil because water cannot pass through that easily. The new landfill
could either be built there or the council could use this clay at another site
so that the new landfill can be lined (soil put on the bottom and on
the sides of the landfill) to stop any dirty water going into the
ground.
The Municipality plan to get everyone involved in the waste management process. Once a new site has been selected for landfill it is hoped that regular field trips can be arranged so that schoolchildren can learn about the move from open dumping to controlled landfilling and get involved with waste management, recycling and composting. As the new landfill is a long term project it should create jobs for locals during its lifetime.
A Facebook page has been created for people get involved with
waste management - Search for Luganville Waste Management on Facebook.
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| Some breathing space for now, but more to do. Vanuatu Daily Post: http://www.dailypost.vu/content/lack-space-forces-lmc-search-new-dumpsite |
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