BVI officials look at Bermuda’s waste management system
A team from the British Virgin Islands visited Bermuda this week to learn more about how the island handles its waste.
Marlon Penn, BVI Minister of Health and Social Development, Petrona Davies, permanent secretary for the ministry, and Albert Gillings, senior project manager of the Virgin Islands Recovery and Development Agency, all flew to the island for the three-day visit.
The delegation, who arrived on Sunday, visited the Tynes Bay Waste-to-Energy facility yesterday, the Marsh Folly Depot and the Airport Waste Facility.
Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the Minister of Public Works, said: “Bermuda has long been looked at as an example within the region for other islands to follow.”
A spokesman for the ministry said that Bermuda’s decision to transition from a landfill-disposal system and adopt an incinerator had made the island a regional leader.
Colonel Burch added that despite challenges, the Tynes Bay facility remained a “critical asset” for the island’s waste management system.
"It's no secret that while there have been some mechanical challenges with the ageing facility, the Government has pledged to spend $7 million on significant maintenance upgrades on the plant during the current fiscal year,“ he said.
The delegation also made a “courtesy visit” to David Burt, the Premier, and are set to visit King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and the Mid Atlantic Wellness Institute during their stay, along with meeting Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health, and Tinee Furbert, the Minister of Social Development and Seniors.