Traditionally rubbish on the island like many Islands world wide would burn their rubbish in the back yards of their old salt raker homes.
By the mid 20th century a dump was created over near the old airport strip which later was moved South.
For a long while there was always a regular truck that would haul rubbish to the dump every Saturday. In fact Salt Cay at one time was known as the cleanest island in the Turks and Caicos.
Today however with little manpower on the Island, few working trucks and little financial help the dump has become more than an eyesore.
With the continued financial help from Salt Cay Devco, residents and the Ministry of Health an ongoing plan is being formulated to create a sustainable 'Eco Centro' for Salt Cay.
It is hoped that every resident will cooperate and put on their thinking caps to find as many solutions as possible for a simple 'Waste Management Strategy ' for Salt Cay.
The first step, suggested by me-o was to use the old electric poles that were lying about after the hurricane and start a fence running parallel to the dump and top it off with a strong netting similar to that of the airport..'Shynes' idea.
We must thank the team led by "Mouthy" who did a splendid job gathering the poles , digging the holes and cementing them in place. The fence is a good start and at least will stop the rubbish blowing Westwards into the sea and the nearby dive sites.
The District Commissioner said she would organize a cleanup along the coastline.We should encourage her in this endevour and possibly designate one day a month to this end. It was suggested by the home residents that they would raise funds to continue the fencing from West to East on both sides so that we could keep the animals out. Have we had any progress on this great idea?
Mr Lorne Robinson Director of Health suggested that we look at how Parrot Cay is handling their waste. perhaps we can utilize some of their ideas which have already been tried and tested!
The second step that was started was to move all the old tin into piles and all the old rubber tyres into piles. It was also suggested by Marylyn that we put all the glass bottles into a pile.
Please post any ideas that you have on how we can start separating rubbish in the home and how we can separate up the organic waste to begin composting.
Residents thought it would be a good idea to begin composting within the fence boundry at the dump. Mr Robinson said that there are special containers in use which are sunk in the ground.
It has also been suggested that we pick a suitable project Manager to supervise all issues of Waste Management. Any suggestions?
One idea which I thought could be a quaint idea is to bring in the old beer barrels from Dominican Republic which are in use in Sosua as waste containers.
They are raised off the ground so that the animals can not get inside and they are on a pivot both sides that are cemented into the ground.
The classic idea is that the old beer barrels were used in the days of salt raking to store salt so it will give the Island a traditional feel.
Here is the picture above. Tell me what you think folks or provide any another suggestion.
Lets have some interactive 'chit chat' about the dump and the best way to begin our 'Waste Management Program?'
