The Indian Ocean country of Seychelles is eager to control the volume of waste being put in the landfill by up to 40 percent as the island nation moves to acquire the latest technology for the task. It plans to spend half a million dollars to deal with organic waste entering the landfill at Providence in the beginning stages. Organic waste will be sorted and the crushed product will then be turned into compost to be used in landscaping and other activities.
The Head of the Waste Enforcement and Permit Division of the Environment Ministry, Nanette Laure, said the department would like to bring in the crusher as soon as possible.
Ms. Laure said the introduction of such a machine would form part of the solid waste disposal and treatment strategy the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, for the next 10 years.
The ministry also plans to reduce waste in the 115-island Western Indian Ocean archipelago by building a sorting facility at Providence. In the words of Ms. Laure, “We are proposing that the government tender for private investors for a sorting and recycling platform to be located at the landfill at Providence. This mechanical sorting platform could be built under the warehouse located at Providence so as to enable the segregation and diversion of certain types of waste from the landfill and eventually this will also result in exportation”.
The facility will process the recyclable waste such as cans, P.E.T. and paper, which will later be exported to other countries for processing. But the Environment Ministry will continue to face the twin issues of funding and qualified personnel in the field of waste management.
In 2017, a total of 72,000 tons of waste ended up in the landfill. The authorities are determined to build a third landfill, considering the rate at which the second one is filling up.
The two existing landfills will eventually be flattened and capped to make the area flat and solid. It can then be used to store the compost produced among other activities.
