Whilst Mount Trashmore gets bigger and our garbage gets collected less we finally get an update from government on the proposed new waste cycling centre. Or more correct, the ISWMS facilities (Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), Composting facility, Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC), End of Life (ELV)/Scrap Metals facility, Maintenance building, new Weigh Bridge facility, Construction and Demolition (C&D) facility, Bottom Ash facility, new Residual Waste landfill, the Waste to Energy (WtE) facility, new associated facilities for the sister islands, and remediation of the 3 existing landfills).

Phew.

No wonder we have waited for a long time to get an update.

And what has the update told us? Answers:

1. Negotiations between CIG and the Preferred Bidder (PB) have been going well.

Great.

2. CIG and the PB have been in numerous meetings over the last year.

Great. How many? Numerous doesn’t exactly tell us much. More than two?

3. CIG have reached the stage they can finalize the ISWMS Contract.

The contract hasn’t been finalized? When will that be?

4. CIG and the PB have updated the technical layouts for the ISWMS after a detailed review of all of the facilities.

That sounds promising……

5. CIG HOPES to have all PB negotiations including resolution of all of the Technical, Financial and Legal Reserved matters completed by early 2019, so that the a draft ISWMS contract would be ready by the end of the 1st Quarter of 2019

Life is full of HOPE.

6. Work associated with completion of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies and then getting planning approval for the new ISWMS is ANTICIPATED to take until the 2nd quarter of 2019

ANTICIPATION is often met with set backs and much frustration. An EIA study and Planning Approval? Oh dear. Add disappointment to the frustration.

7. Detailed Design and Construction of ISWMS facilities is then EXPECTED to take place January 2019 to end of 2021.

Expectation can be as high and as low as your mindset is. Your expectation with the dates given is most certainly going to be dashed.

8. MOST of the ISWMS facilities SHOULD be operational 1 ½ years after start of construction (by end of 2020).

How much exactly is ‘most”? 60%? 70%? 80%?

By also adding the word “should” we have two pies in the sky for the price of one.

The answers from the government update we published yesterday November 14^th have told us absolutely nothing concrete whatsoever.

Sorry I overlooked this concrete statement. See #1- “Negotiations between CIG and the Preferred Bidder (PB) have been going well.”

Doesn’t that make you all feel so much better?

No. Quite frankly I think it’s all garbage.

But that is precisely what the subject the government was updating us.