Devonshire residents have called on the Bermuda Government to sort out the mountain of blue bags being stored at the old recycling facility. With the Material Recovery Facility in Hamilton Parish only working “sporadically” since March, a backlog of recyclable waste is still being kept at the Devon Springs site in Devonshire.

While Government said the MRF plant would be repaired “shortly”, Greenrock’s executive director stressed that the “unfortunate” situation was damaging public confidence in the recycling process.

“All I see them doing is storing stuff, not taking anything away,” one area resident told The Royal Gazette. “Something should be done.”

The man, who asked not to be named, said he had heard other area residents complain about “big rats” in the area, although he had not seen any himself.

But he added that the area was also “drawing men, who sit up there every day drinking”.

However, he said the situation had not put him or his neighbours off recycling, adding “we still do what we have to do”.

Another area resident noted that the building had deteriorated since being damaged by Hurricane Gonzalo in 2014, with no efforts made to repair the damage.

“It’s been like that for years. It’s an eyesore. It’s not healthy — I’m worried about the rats.”

His wife added: “It’s ridiculous because all of that causes problems with rodents. It’s annoying because sometimes it smells. We don’t know what’s in the blue bags.”

According to a Government spokeswoman, the MRF has only been processing about half the island’s recyclable waste since March, with the rest stored at the Devon Springs location.

The plant has had similar problems in the past, with the Ministry of Public Works announcing on September 3 last year that it was experiencing technical difficulties.

“The MRF has been operating sporadically since our last report due to intermittent mechanical issues,” the spokeswoman said.

“A dedicated senior staff member will now be on site to undertake the required repairs and as such, it is anticipated that the plant will be operating at full capacity shortly.”

While she did not specify an exact timeline, she said this should be “clear in a few weeks” once the plant was running at full capacity.

“Reducing the backlog has had it challenges because the plant still has to deal with the incoming recyclables on a daily basis.”

This newspaper first reported on the pile of blue bags used for recyclable trash in December last year. By March, the mountain had grown and it remains visible from the roadside.

While Greenrock executive director Jonathan Starling was not aware of the present problems at the MRF plant, he said the situation was “unfortunate”.

“For one, it undermines all the education work and awareness that has been or is being done to encourage people to recycle — and the storage at Devon Springs no doubt hurt that a lot because people were seeing the blue mountain of bags growing there and it undermined confidence in the recycling process.

“It would have been better to store them at the Government Quarry or somewhere less visible until the repairs were complete.”

Mr Starling added that despite the education that has been done, “there is a lack of trust in the recycling programme”.

And while there “is always more that can be done”, ensuring the MRF is operating smoothly “is key in maintaining confidence in the recycling system”, he added.

While Government said it would be “premature to comment” on the future plans for the facility because they have not been finalised, a Department of Health spokeswoman reiterated that Vector Control regularly checked the area.

“The Department of Health received complaints of rodents in that area earlier in the summer. Traps were set in June 2016 and re-baited in July 2016.

“The area continues to be checked regularly by Vector Control. The public is asked to report concerns about rodents to Vector Control at 278-5397 or envhealth@gov.bm.”