Landfill Site

The George Town Landfill

The 80ft pile of rubbish can be seen from offshore and is visible to locals, residents and visitors every day. It has caused numerous toxic fires, forcing surrounding schools and businesses to close and, as the landfill is not lined, it’s feared it may be contaminating the surrounding water-table. It is predicted that the landfill will reach full capacity by 2021.

The proposed plan to tackle Cayman’s ever-growing landfill site is to create a comprehensive Integrated Solid Waste Management System (ISWMS) as a public-private partnership. A private consortium of companies, led by DART Enterprises, will take over responsibility for the treatment of all waste management in the Cayman Islands for the next 25 years, working alongside the Department of Environmental Health who will continue to collect waste on the Islands.

Project ReGen - March 2021

As of March 26th 2021, Project ReGen has been launched as DART has finally signed the contract for ISWMS works to continue. It has been proposed Project ReGen will take 3.5 years to complete, where the new ISWMS will be constructed between 2022-2044. Construction costs are said to range around $205 million, which will be subsidised by DART. Parties involved in the project are hoping to create 9 integrated facilities with capacity to divert up to 95% of waste from the landfill. In line with the National Solid Waste Management Strategy agreed as far back as 2016, Project ReGen hopes to create a long-term, sustainable waste management solution with improved recycling, including the repurposing of materials that aren't recycled into electricity, and the promotion of movement up the 'waste hierarchy'.

Once the ISWMS is fully operational, the CI Government will pay the parties associated $163 per tonne of processed waste. Government are hoping that this will be a final successful attempt at 'fixing the dump', which has been promised for decades. Operations will be split between DART and the DEH (Department of Environmental Health). Until then, the landfill will continue to expand laterally after the height capacity has been reached, with hopes of being removed through the design and procurement of a fully up-and-running sustainable waste management system.

Current Efforts

Cayman is already benefitting from the environmental awareness and legislation from other countries, as larger producers take responsibility for making their products more sustainable. Yet it remains crucial to slow the increasing flow of rubbish to the landfill. The Government is making efforts to shred used tyres, recycle materials and bale scrap metals so that these objects do not take up valuable space in the landfill, whilst also trying to educate both schools and the general public on the importance of home waste reduction. Nevertheless, these changes rely on the participation of Cayman’s population, and people are urged to make the attitude and lifestyle changes required in order to reduce waste, and its environmental impact. As outlined in the new waste management strategy, when the current landfill site is closed, it will undergo surface water and landfill gas management, and then eventually it will be capped with around five feet of protective layering, and re-vegetated to create a recreational green space. The grounds will continue to be monitored to ensure the site performs within the approved parameters of safety, and landfill gases (such as methane and carbon dioxide) will be collected and transported to the thermo-recycling plant to be used as fuel. Over time, the overall height of the landfill is expected to decrease yearly by around 3%, and the contamination of the surrounding ground and wet-lands will also be reduced. New facilities will then be built, which will manage all recyclable and non-recyclable waste for Grand Cayman and also Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. All rubbish will be shipped over to Grand Cayman for processing.

New Integrated Solid Waste Management System (ISWMS)

The proposed Integrated Solid Waste Management System (ISWMS) will be built to the east of the Waste Water Treatment plant, and will include a waste-to-energy plant, as well as a recycling centre. The ISWMS will include a new landfill that will be properly lined, and all incinerated waste will be disposed of correctly in the small controlled site. The goal is to reduce the volume of waste going to landfill for disposal by up to 95%. The electricity generated will be sold to Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC) and it is estimated that the ISWMS will contribute approximately 7.6 megawatts to the local grid. This translates to approximately 8% of the country’s electricity needs. At the facility’s recycling area there will be bays to collect and bale various recyclables, such as number 1 and 2 plastics. The facility will also provide composting areas on all three Islands for horticulture/yard waste, and there will be a reuse centre where people can deposit functional (but unwanted) goods and furniture. There is also an educational aspect to the project: a significant amount of work needs to be done to educate the public so that current habits are changed, and more environmentally-friendly recycling practices are encouraged across the three Islands.