It was during the aftermath of Hurricane Fabian that local residents began to appreciate the essential service that the Tynes Bay Waste Treatment Facility provides.

The facility was still in the planning stage when the last big hurricane ? Emily ? hit the Island in 1987 and in this the tenth year of the plant?s existence it is still taken for granted by many who have a ?dump-it-and-forget-it? attitude to their garbage.

?We got a lot of comments after Fabian because a lot of people were bringing their own trash by, especially that first weekend when the refrigerators were without power and they lost a lot of food,? said Richard Wadden, the Plant Chemist at Tynes Bay.

?The drop-off got swamped so we were bringing them (motorists) down straight into the tipping hall and a lot of people didn?t even realise we were even down here.?

Said Russell Wade, Permanent Secretary, Special Projects. ?That is the first time a lot of individuals realised what we in fact do at Tynes Bay.?

Joked Operations Manager Vincent Shih: ?We keep a low profile.?

Mr. Wade concedes that the 2003 figures for trash collected, once compiled, will be higher than that of 2002.

?Yes, especially with Fabian,? he conceded.

Said Mr. Wadden: ?I imagine it will be closer to a five per cent increase this year.?

The facility received water damaged carpet from one of the hotels, damaged stock from stores and warehouses, as well as the regular household garbage.

?That?s additional tonnage that wasn?t anticipated, but we disposed of it,? said Mr. Wade.

Mr. Shih said the disposing of trash was not seen in the past of a money-making venture, but that thinking has changed.

?In the old days the thinking was any thing to do with trash is a money losing proposition, but I don?t think that is true today,? he stressed.

?Keeping the environment clean has a price of its own, it brings the tourists to the island.?

And Mr. Wade reminded that good job opportunities exist at Tynes Bay which presently employs a staff of 41.

?When we started back in 1994 we had training under Von Roll, who were the mechanical suppliers, and we have subsequently brought in a trainer from Canada to train individuals to the Canadian certification and individuals are at this time taking their first class operating engineering exams,? he explained. The minimum certification is fourth class.

?We have individuals at the facility right now who are doing, third, second and first (class). What we would like to do is solicit any individuals out there who have the minimum standards ? for school children leaving GCSE in math, English and physics is the starting point for the training.

?It is an industrial facility, yes. Between us and Belco we are the only two heavy industrial facilities on the island and we would like to grab a few of those individuals before Belco takes them.?

According to the Permanent Secretary, opportunities exist in electrical and instrumentation, maintenance jobs from welders to millwrights and process controllers who operate the plant?s equipment.

?We need individuals in the worst way, and the preference would be to Bermudianise as far as possible. Opportunities are endless so we?re just looking for individuals to use us. As long as you gain and are able to spread it to somewhere else it is to Bermuda?s benefit?

Added Mr. Shih: ?When you reach the first class (certification) it is equivalent to a Bachelor of Engineering, and it is very well recognised by a few other countries, including the States.?

By their very nature, jobs at the Tynes Bay Waste Treatment Facility require skilled workers.

?We are dealing with high temperature, high pressure, high voltages,? Mr. Shih reminded.

?We do need people to join us, to provide us with a continuous quota of skilled workers for years to come.?