The Problems of Recycling in the Bahamas

by Ginny Mckinney

Solid waste disposal and recycling are both problems in the Bahamian out islands.

In most cases the government has either farmed out trash collection to a local person or people just truck their own garbage to the landfill (dump, pit, whatever is being used) .

The landfill/dump is usually on Crown Land and run by the government. In most places they are still burning the accumulated garbage. Local administrations have been pushing to create landfills and transfer stations on Islands with fairly large populations, using a loan from the InterAmerican Development Bank, which was negotiated by the government over 10 years ago.

Personal Observations
I have struggled for over 12 years to get recycling happening here in Nassau and in some of the Family Islands. Currently, we have an aluminum can recycling project called Cans for Kids. We collect cans through schools and businesses, densify and ship them. The proceeds go to the participating schools and youth groups.

Recyling plastic is something I've been investigating this last year. With new technologies coming onstream, coupled with the increase in price and decrease in availability of oil, recycling plastic is becoming more viable even for a small garbage generator like the Bahamas. Oddly, even though we look like an enormous source of plastic, we are comparatively small and cannot justify the price of some of these technologies.

Other stumbling blocks to recycling efforts in the Bahamas are as follows:

With no separation system in place (either curbside or central system), collection has always posed the biggest and most expensive problem. This is compounded by the high price of diesel/petrol and the high cost of labour in the Bahamas.

Exporting the baled material is also a problem as the shipping companies are not inclined to give any concessions if the recycling is a for-profit venture. Cans for Kids gets free shipping as long as we stay non-profit.

The cheapest part is the baling, though with the price of electricity that is growing too. Last but not least are the prices received for the recyclables. These markets fluctuate and can be affected greatly by the cleanliness of the baled material and the saturation of the market.

We are very stringent in our preparation of our shipments as any contamination (straws, plastic six pack holders, dirt, ferrous metal etc.) will impact the price we receive from our buyer. As to the state of the market when we send our material for sale, we cannot do anything about that but hope there is a scarcity of aluminium at that particular moment, which will mean a higher price for us.

The other material that I have been trying for eight years to get out of our landfills is garden waste (lawn and bush clippings etc.). My company (Wastenot Limited) offers a well-priced service but in the absence of a government mandate banning such waste from the landfill we have had little response.

This is of course a huge source of methane when it is buried at the landfill and undergoes anaerobic digestion to breakdown. But at the moment the government has no plans to address this problem. We have now started a composting operation in Nassau and are capturing green waste from Lyford Cay (a gated community of about 350 homes) and Atlantis. We are also processing shipping pallets at the landfill.

Though this government is beginning to look at alternative methods for dealing with garbage, it is going to take some time. Whatever it does, it has to repeat it at least five times on the main populated Family Islands. This is an expensive and hard to co-ordinate task, so it keeps get pushed onto the back burner.

Also compounding the situation are our social problems, which need a lot of attention right now. Kids having babies and assaulting each other in school, parents lacking parenting skills, lawlessness in all stratas of our society. This requires immediate attention from the current administration.

From my investigations and experiments I have concluded that a process called Thermal Conversion stands to serve the Bahamas best. This is not a burning but a heating process with a subsequent capturing of gases, which are then in turn used to drive a turbine to produce electricity. Reintroduction of the material a second time yields more gases and the resulting leftovers are an inert aggregate which can be used in block manufacturing or road building.

Capture of heat from the energy production can be used for desalination and/or chillers for food storage. With Thermal Conversion we view the garbage as a fuel, already bought and shipped in. The cost in monetary terms and in an increased carbon footprint trying to collect, separate, bale and ship again to a recycling destination is much greater than converting it to energy right here in the Islands. Smaller units for the out islands will not generate any profit but will meet some of the energy needs and take care of the garbage at the same time.

So where does that leave volunteer efforts on the family islands now? The first problem is collecting the litter that creates such an eyesore for resident and visitor alike. The second is how is the plastic to be dealt with at the disposal site once it actually gets there? And how much money are volunteers willing to raise/invest to help solve the problem?

If interested persons can give me an outline of what is in place and what kind of solution they can execute, I am more than happy to give my thoughts, info and contacts to assist you. Keep the passion, don't get discouraged.

Comments

[Michael Bartlett]

Good luck, a great cause!Sometimes I feel like getting people to be aware of how they handle waste is as difficult as hitting a trash can with a bottle from a moving MGB going around a roundabout in the wee hours.

[Michael Coletta]

I have visited the Bahamas for many years with my family, my family has been in receycling since 1911, I presently work for a private company and my functions include marketing recyclables. In my recent visits I noticed the items I sell are being tossed into the garbage, then landfilled which I also visited. I have a few ideas how to impleiment a recycling program that could work and would appreciate speaking with Ms. McKinney, her ideas and thoughts are right on track.

[Dan Carter]

Hello! We would love to help! We live in Vancouver/Bahamas,and we are very knowledgeable of the "GO GREEN" concept!Contact our "Green Team" and we will do whatever it takes to make this happen in the Bahamas. Our team is willing, ready and educated! We have plenty of great ideas that will help make this happen! bubbs2010@hotmail.com We will work together to make this happen here, and we can grow so big that we will work in other countries that need the "Greenery" too. We have marketing ideas, equipment, promotional ideas! Lets make it happen!

[Joanne McGovern]

Hello. It was great to find this website and read the updates on environmental initiatives in the Bahamas - specifically, recycling. I am a Canadian who has been living in Bahamas (out island) for more than four years and am interested in researching and finding the right waste management solution for the island... the challenges are obvious, so I am starting from others experiences.... would love to contact others who may have success stories in Bahamas...

[carlos gracia]

hi my name is carlos gracia. i live in chicago. i think the main problem is finding someone who wants to deal with garbage in industrial quantities then talk to the bahamian government and have them agree to concessions on the importation of machinery. A well set up program can be profitable thinking that all the materials can be exported. i think now more than ever it is in bahamian interest to set up a system before the next mega resort is built. i love recycling dealing with garbage but like many i don't have the resources. I think that solar panels is a novel idea but garbage handling is a total different issue

[Michelle Torres]

I think you and Steve Love need to get together. He is also working on this initiative. check him out on twitter.

https://twitter.com/#!/JunkTaNew

More people need to be aware and get involved.

The Love Family (Lyford Cay)

[Ginny McKinney]

Thank-you for the comments. I have been in contact with Mr.Love and tried to get some glass recycling happening at the end of last year out in Lyford Cay. Mr.Love was dismayed to see how reluctant people are to facilitate recycling by separating their garbage into it's components but in defence of the Home Owners Association they did ask him to present a formal proposal showing methodology, cost, etc., so they could review and possibly implement it, he has been away a lot this year so I have not heard much more. We are working on a similar idea with Atlantis (since last year) but they are finding the unions are reluctant to get involved....! (We need to remember this is our country and we are in this together!)

This is why waste to energy (WTE)has kept presenting itself as the solution for the Bahamas or particularly the larger population areas). The sale of the power would create the funds necessary for recycling the metals, glass and green waste. It must be remembered that recycling is rarely a lucrative exercise. In most countries the expense of it is passed onto the consumer via a direct fee or indirectly through taxes or sometimes bond issues for major infrastructure needs. In Europe there is a constant push to make manufacturers take back their packaging, all in an effort to reduce the packaging and it's recyclability but also to share the costs.

The Bahamian Government has now re-invited private companies to bid on the NP landfill management (and the additional infrastructure needs) and to resubmit their WTE proposals. BRER the company with whom I am affiliated with has responded to both calls (January 7th, 2011) and await a response.Hope springs eternal.......

We the Bahamian Public need to demand better (private) waste management but we must also be willing to separate our garbage on a daily basis (either for curbside pickup or take it to drop-off recycling centers), which will lead to successful recycling. The balance of garbage after recycling is still considerable so WTE should be demanded as well. If we don't get involved, we deserve the waste system we've got right now.