Greenland Landfill, Barbados

The Greenland Landfill is one of the larger government works project undertaken by the Government of Barbados in recent times. The project which was proposed as a way to meet Barbados' growing need for self-sufficient waste disposal, however the landfill project has become a partly failed investment strategy of the Government.

During the 1990s the Government implemented the process to build the proposed "Greenland Landfill" located in the parish of Saint Andrew. After millions spent on construction by a private contractor, problems began to surface with the project. The landfill although officially finished, was deemed at the end to be unsuitable to hold any waste. After spending huge amounts of time to excavate the area in the countryside and the time to build the hillside protection-system the Government of Barbados held off ever using the landfill for any garbage for the next decade after completion as it looked for answers to the situation.

The landfill project has become an Achilles heel for the government, with many seeing this as a large waste of limited government resources. The landfill which was hastily completed and opened by the Government of Barbados was found by several studies to be both unstable and unsuitable for the newly completed land supporting it.

To make matters worse, several of the instructions given by the contractor which developed the technology for the Barbados government were either ignored or overlooked. Part of the instructions given involved the ongoing safe maintenance of the landfill and its membrane lining. The instructions were that the landfill should remain wet/moist to create a safe protective membrane. Following heavy rains during its dormancy, water had begun to pool in the landfill crater. The government pumped out this water which led directly to the drying and cracking of the landfill's permanent lining system meant to protect the landscape from waste seepage. The government spokesman tried to give some meaning behind the failed venture by saying the landfill will be opened after repairs even though some studies and experts claim landslides could take place in the area possibly dumping the waste downhill into the sea.

For the time being, the government has instead looked at the possibility of converting some of the islands' waste into energy, however the government wants to do this in a way with as little environmental impact as possible.

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Wikipedia