Environment officials take landfill plans to the public |11 August 2005

Staff from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, joined by the European Union (EU) consultants helping to set the landfill plan in motion, were questioned by a handful of local residents, concerned about the proposed 7.8-hectare extension to the country's largest refuse site.

Under the plans drawn up by the EU consultants the existing Providence landfill site would undergo a two-stage extension, prolonging its lifespan by an estimated 20 years and allowing it to take an additional 780,000 cubic metres of waste.

But at an expected cost of Euro 5.8 million the new site is set to be a major improvement on the current landfill.

Nils Kristensen, the lead technician from the Danish consultancy firm hired by the EU to plan the new site, outlined the improvements of the proposed site over the existing landfill.

The planned extension will have a double lined base to prevent water seeping into the lagoon, polluted water will be collected and treated on site, landfill gas will be burnt off, it will be fenced against trespassing and a 300-metre buffer zone established, he said.

Improved waste covering methods, a smaller working area and improved pest control are also set to be introduced.

"It will be completely different to the current site, which is basically a dump site," said Mr Kristensen, adding that the present site would fall short of EU standards.

Complaints have been raised by local residents about the smell from the current landfill site, but Mr Kristensen said that the improved methods employed in the multi million Euro extension should help counter this problem.

Speaking before the start of the public meeting Mr Kristensen said that he hoped to, "get a response back in terms of the issues they would like taken into consideration," despite the low turnout by Cascade residents.

With the landfill extension still in the planning stage Mr Kristensen stressed that public input can still sway the decisions taken before the final draft is submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MENR) and the EU.

The extension is likely to win financial backing from the EU but Mr Kristensen said that it would first have to meet EU landfill standards.

While the MENR's Solid Waste Master Plan 2004-2010 recommends waste incineration as the best option for the future, Mr Kristensen said that cost constraints have made the continued use of landfill sites necessary.

Waste generation in Seychelles is estimated to increase rapidly from 577 kg per person in 2006 to 837 kg per person in 2025. With a proposed construction start of 2006 the new landfill site should start to meet some of this increased demand by 2007.