TECHNOLOGIES USED IN THE

MANAGEMENT OF SOLID WASTES IN

THE CARIBBEAN
PRESENTED BY
ALTON E. FORDE
GENERAL MANAGER

NATIONAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

AT

WASTE EXPERTS REVIEW WORKSHOP

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS
16TH TO 19TH DECEMBER, 2003
INTRODUCTION

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SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGIES

 Presentation will focus on:


Collection and Transportation
 Composting and Recycling

 Treatment and Disposal


Handling of Special Wastes

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COLLECTION AND
TRANSPORTATION
 Waste collection and transport are
the most publicly visible aspect of
MSW.
 Usually the area with most public
complaints arising from
deficiencies.
 Consumes approximately 10-20%
of Authorities total operating
budge per year. 4
COLLECTION AND
TRANSPORTATION (CONT’D)
 High public visibility and high cost
of waste collection makes it an
important area for agencies to
improve performance.
 OECS/SWMP has realized
significant improvement in the
collection and transportation of
solid waste.
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COLLECTION AND
TRANSPORTATION (CONT’D)
 Collection service now more
reliable, efficient and expeditious
with the use of compactors
(packer) trucks and proper routes
development.
 Development and implementation
of collection schedules.

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COLLECTION AND
TRANSPORTATION (CONT’D)
 Certain types of wastes are still
being collected in some
communities using
unconventional methods.
 Collection are made at curbside.

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COMPOSTING AND RECYCLING

Training in composting provided to

Technicians under OECS/SWMP.
Separation and composting of
organic materials for use as a soil
conditioner, fertilizer or growth
medium is common practice in some
OECS Countries on varying scales.
[Backyard, Hotels, Communities
(Antigua); Disposal Site (St. Vincent)]
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COMPOSTION AND RECYCLING
(CONT’D)

Finished compost used in

agricultural applications.
Every tonne extracted from
the waste stream means that
there is a tonne less that
needs to be managed.
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COMPOSTING AND RECYCLING
(CONT’D)

The most effective waste

management systems are
those that effectively
combine high service
standards with high rates of
materials recovery and
recycling. 10
RECYCLING

Recycling plays a critical

role in reducing waste
quantities, returning
resources back to use and
minimizing the financial and
environmental burden of
managing MSW.
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RECYCLING (CONT’D)

Recycling will become even more

critical as quantities of waste and in
particular consumer packaging
increase.
Markets for recyclable exists in
French West Indies (plastics,
aluminum, glass); Trinidad (glass);
Venezuela (paper and paper board).

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 WASTE TREATMENT AND
DISPOSAL
Waste treatment is often seen as a
“magic solution” to the growing
political problem of waste.
Application of waste treatment
technologies usually develop
problems.
Overoptimistic assessment of
technical institutional and financial
feasibility along with technical skills
and available operation and 13
 WASTE TREATMENT AND
DISPOSAL (CONT’D)
Major cause of failure of investment
in waste treatment technology.
Be realistic about viability and
practicability of MSW treatment
technologies and cautious about
committing to large investments.

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 SANITARY LANDFILLING
Waste disposal by landfill is an
essential part of any waste
management system.
There is always a significant fraction
of the waste stream that cannot be
treated and waste treatment process
residue that require disposal by
landfill.
Sanitary landfills is the major
technology employed for
treatment/disposal of wastes 15
SANITARY LANDFILLING (CONT’D)

With careful planning, design,

construction and operation, landfill
can be a safe, cost-effective and
environmentally acceptable means of
MSW final disposal.
Countries are challenged to put
sanitary landfills in place that provide
an acceptable degree of
environmentally health and safety
protection at an affordable cost. 16
SANITARY LANDFILLING (CONT’D)

Significant improvements can be

made to the standard of waste
disposal with very limited finances.
Key areas for initial attention include:
• Obtaining budgets and approvals
• Rationalizing operations.
• Carrying out basic civil engineering
works.
• Establish an effective management
system. 17
SPECIAL WASTES

 TIRES

Tires do not sit well in

landfills. They tend to float
to the surface.
Tires being separated at
source and brought to the
disposal site in dedicated
vehicles (Antigua). 18
SPECIAL WASTES
(CONT’D)
Huge piles of tires presently
exist at a number of disposal
sites in the region.
Recycling opportunities exit at
Guadeloupe.
Tire baling is being done in
Antigua with baled tires used in
a number of applications.
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 HAZARDOUS WASTES
MEDICAL WASTES
Medical waste is being collected in
dedicated vehicles and transported to
disposal site where it is landfilled
(Antigua).
Incineration of medical wastes being
done on hospital compound.
Disinfection of medical wastes is being
done through process of Autoclaving
Shredding followed by chemical
disinfection [still require disposal as
special waste (St. Lucia)] 20
HAZARDOUS WASTES (CONT’D)

USED OILS
Disposal methods presently
employed in the region include:
Used as fuel in electricity generation
or heater (Antigua).
Re-refining into lubricating oil
(Trinidad).
Landfarming application (Antigua).

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HAZARDOUS WASTES (CONT’D)

BATTERIES
 Batteries are exported for recycling
(Antigua). Acid is drained to
neutralize the batteries. They are
then stored in container and
shipped to Venequela.

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THANK
YOU!
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