Am I the only person in Cayman who is not satisfied with the speeches made by both Minister Osbourne Bodden and Premier Alden McLaughlin in Cayman Brac’s Legislative Assembly last Thursday (10) regarding THE DUMP?

All talk and no action makes for no solution and we have had plenty of that regarding our trash problem for years.

Unfortunately I was expecting what I heard and read but one can still hope.

After ALL the studies that have been done at great expense over the years regarding waste management Premier McLaughlin said, “While there have been previous tenders, and there are quite a few studies about this subject, the fact is that the previous iterations were not subjected to the level of research, assessment, and scrutiny that the process currently requires.”

I suppose that is why we have a 16 person steering committee formed to access and scrutinize all this increased level of research that all these years we have been missing.

Of course the Premier did not go into the details what was missing from all the previous research and many, many pages of written material complete with diagrams from engineers and waste management companies. I can only wonder what additional level of research was required.

I am a retired quantity surveyor and one of the subjects I had to study was in fact waste management albeit a very long time ago. One studies from various sources but after 2 or 3 what you can glean new from any other studies is very little. In fact the more material the less sinks in.

Even the fact-finding mission both ministers went overseas to has not produced any comfort that a solution is imminent. They visited four waste-to-energy facilities, two landfills, and one recycling processing centre and saw the waste-to-energy process in action.

They MAY want to explore the different “governance structures” as “part of the procurement processes”. If it delays the actual decision on what government is going to do why not?

Minister Bodden is pleased he went, saying, “It was an incredibly informative trip. It has given me an enhanced understanding of waste-to-energy technology, and its possible role in the integrated solid waste management solution for the Cayman Islands.”

POSSIBLE? Hmm. Probably not.

Even though Bodden is excited about waste to energy he is not necessarily committed to that technology as the actual people who didn’t go on the trip, the majority of the members of the steering committee, “they have to research and advise on the best solution for the country”.

You mean they haven’t already researched this yet? What have they been doing all these months, then?

“The process which they are undertaking is a requirement under our finance law, and it requires careful assessment and consideration of the various components of a project, including financial, environmental, and legal implications and requirements.  The process takes time, but I believe that the approach is well-founded and will result in a better project, with an increased chance of success, for the country,” he added.

I am so pleased he has been excited but less pleased “the process will take time”.

The premier was correct when he said we mustn’t make the same past mistakes and the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility we now have to adhere to, was due to “the disastrous consequences of the last tendering exercise”. However, ex-Premier McKeeva Bush, said it was due to the previous government that McLaughlin was part of.

McLaughlin already believed in a need of having “an overarching strategy when looking at solid waste management”. Going on the fact finding dump trip has reinforced that opinion he said.

“It is a complex issue with many moving parts, so it is important to take a strategic and rational approach when looking for a solution.  We simply cannot afford to take a piece-meal approach to this problem – we need to look no further than the current situation to know that approach will not lead to a sustainable solution,” he concluded.

So what happens now?

There won’t be a quick solution. There won’t even be a quick assessment. There will be long stages to go through first. Much debate. More business studies to be put forward. More meetings. More assessments. Even more talk.

And a solution?

Well even the short-term solutions that we haven’t learnt what they actually are “mustn’t negatively impact our ability to implement the long-term solution once it is identified, Bodden said.

If the long-term solution hasn’t been identified how can any one know if the short term solution will impact the long term solution?

“We are carefully assessing the improvements as we go to ensure they meet our short-term objectives without unintended long-term consequences,” Bodden said.

So there are improvements going on at The DUMP? Please tell us what they are. I live close by.

I await with much interest for the delivery of the national waste management strategy to identify project options for assessment, even though that won’t put forward any plan of action. It will inform us we need a solution to the problem we have.

Next we will await the delivery of the Outline Business Case that will look at the best option for the project itself?

Then we wait for the “procurement and implementation”.

Of exactly what?

Incredibly informative trip to dump. I leave you to apply any meanings you like to that sentence.

See also iNews Cayman Main Story today “Belize shows the Caribbean how to better manage waste products”

Perhaps Cayman’s ministers would have better served visiting Belize? I hope they read the article.