Dear Editor,

Jamaicans for A Modern Energy Sector (JAMES) laments the utterly amateurish attempts to put out the fire at the Riverton landfill in Kingston.

First, JAMES demands that at a minimum two fire engines capable of discharging foam fire retardants be stationed at the facilities, or nearby, for the proper landfill firefighting tactics. Landfill fires are essentially chemical fires and not ordinarily fought with water. As a matter of fact, dumping large quantities of water on such a fire worsens the situation, as is patently obvious. This as the large volumes of thick smoke so generated presents an enormous hazard to residents in the path of the travelling plumes.

Second, the time has come for us as a nation to utilise First-World practices as it relates to operations of landfills. JAMES has advocated for years that landfills be treated as energy endowments and exploited according to international best practices. Namely, separation of solid waste, incineration and energy harvesting of carbonaceous medium to produce electricity and fuels, recycling of plastics and glass bottles, and the collection of and utilising of landfill gases (primarily methane).

We once again stridently ask this administration for no less, as this nation cannot continue to exist, as it relates to the environment and energy production, as if stuck in the Stone Age. Ironically, the proper handling of our solid waste would create jobs, even as we protect our environment and secure the rights of our people to clean air for inhalation.

Trevor Bogle

Convener, JAMES

Bogle108@yahoo.com

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