Newsprint 5.0% Recyclable paper Newsprint, office paper and half other paper
7 Organic waste Processing capacity (composting)
Empirical observations suggest that are large quantities organic garden/yard waste of being received at the landfills and this material provides an opportunity to produce a useable soil supplement or compost that could be used locally. To achieve this a suitable location and processing/composting plant will be required. For windrow composting a suitable site would provide sufficient space for both primary composting and maturation and should be located at least 500m from a receptor. The required plant for windrow composting is relatively simple (comprising macerators, sieves, mechanical turners and temperature monitoring and irrigation equipment). Amec Foster Wheeler would recommend that initial composting trials undertaken on the garden/yard waste accepted at the landfill sites.
Ref No
Category Issue Comment Options/Recommendations Priority
Organic waste (cont)
Storage capacity for garden/yard
Food Waste
The garden and yard waste accepted at the landfills is in some cases being separately stockpiled; however significant cross contamination was also observed. To facilitate the composting of this material and the production of a quality soil improver and compost observations suggest that are large quantities organic garden/yard waste are being received at the landfill as soil replacement/compost therefore more effective segregated storage capacity would be required.
More sophisticated and complex forms of organic waste treatment are required to treat food/kitchen waste and comingled food and yard waste. These include in vessel composting and anaerobic digestion. The suitability of these options for deployment on the Cayman Islands will be examined as part of the NSWMS and potential introduction delivered through a procurement process.
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8 Lack of disposal
charges
Waste can currently be disposed of at the DEH operated landfills by residents, private companies and others free of any charge. As a consequence there is no financial incentive to the quantity of waste being produced.
The current lack of gate fees for landfill disposal runs contrary to the principal that the polluter should pay. The introduction of gate fees should be considered as measure to both reduce the quantity of waste requiring disposal and providing funds for landfill operations and/or alternative waste management initiatives.
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Existing Operations
9 Landfill capacity
and void space
Remaining capacity of the site for waste disposal or waste treatment operations is unknown. Cayman Brac - No topographical survey information for the landfill. Input rates are low; so no capacity issues in the short to medium term. Little Cayman – Site operates with municipal wastes regularly set alight and burned. No
operational controls apparent and area of burning is expanding considerably.
Consider preservation of part of remaining land area for waste treatment areas and/or engineered cell for future residual waste.
The landfill on Cayman Brac should be closed when alternative waste management options are made available. This is likely to comprise a WTS/HWRC.
Take measures to prevent further expansion of the burning area (for example by placing large rocks to prohibit vehicle access). The landfill on Little Cayman should be closed when alternative waste management options are made available. This is likely to comprise a WTS/HWRC.
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10 Site security and
access
George Town Landfill Public should only be able to access the landfill tipping area when they have large loads (which are unsuitable for depositing in the skips at the drop –off area by the site entrance.) Otherwise the gatehouse should prohibit entry. If the gatehouse is unmanned then it is recommended the drop-off area and site access road be gated to prohibit unauthorised access. The gate in the north
Ref No
Category Issue Comment Options/Recommendations Priority
Cayman Brac – landfill site is not secure and can be accessed by the public out of hours (out of hours tipping was observed by Amec Foster Wheeler during the site
investigation). Potential for health and safety risks on site and also for illegal dumping.
Little Cayman – landfill site access is not secure and there is evidence of uncontrolled dumping taking place.
east of the site road (by the clinical waste incinerator) should also be kept locked; when not in use by operations staff. Secure the site by repairing and locking the access gates when the site is not manned.
Site is unmanned and so it is difficult to restrict access. Consider installation of CCTV camera on access road to record vehicle movements in and out the site. Amec Foster Wheeler recommend the installation of fencing and lockable gate.
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11 Health and safety
(general)
Public should not be able to access the landfill areas except expressly for the purpose of depositing waste under supervision.
No scavenging (for example searching out parts from end of life vehicles) should be allowed.
Drafting and implementation of policy on public access and site specific health and safety procedures to be followed by site staff and site visitors. This should include provisions with regard to appropriate personal protection equipment.
This practice should be discontinued on the grounds of health and safety.
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12 Accumulation and
stockpiling of tires
Large volume of tyres stockpiled at George Town landfill. A contract is currently being drafted by the DEH for treatment and removal. Removal of tyres will free up land for other waste operations and remove risk of tyres catching fire. Majority of used tyres have now been removed from Cayman Brac. Large stockpiles should not be allowed to accumulate in the future.
Relatively few tyres are stockpiled at Little Cayman landfill. These should be removed to Grand Cayman for processing.
Progress with tyre removal contract at George Town landfill. Once the stockpiles are cleared provisions should be introduced in order manage future accumulations to avoid large stockpiles.
Provisions should be introduced in order manage future accumulations to avoid large stockpiles.
Provisions should be introduced in order manage future accumulations to avoid large stockpiles. 1-2 1-2 2 13 Accumulation and stockpiling of
Large volumes (11 years +) of scrap metal are stockpiled at George Town
Produce definitive programme for sorting and procure a contract for removal of scrap metal off island.
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Category Issue Comment Options/Recommendations Priority
metals and end of life vehicles
landfill. Current work is ongoing to sort through the stockpiles to remove non-metal and debris; which would otherwise make the material unsuitable for recycling. The stockpiles take up a substantial amount of space.
Some baling of scrap metal and end of life vehicles has taken place at Cayman Brac; but progress slow due to unreliable equipment.
Several years of accumulation of scrap metal and end of life vehicles are stockpiled at Little Cayman Landfill.
Repair bailer and continue to bale and transfer to Grand Cayman for onward movement to recycling market.
Plan to bale and transfer to Grand Cayman for onward recycling.
2 2 14 Inoperative equipment There is insufficient operable equipment on George Town landfill site for routine waste management operations (e.g. no working excavator or water truck for damping dust).
At the time of the site visit there was no working excavator on the Cayman Brac landfill site. In addition the inoperable excavator has broken windscreen which presents a health and safety issue.
Identify equipment critical to waste operations and purchase or hire-in. If purchased; maintenance regime needs to be put in place and critical spares held to minimise risk of downtime.
Measures to repair and temporarily replace key equipment quickly needs to be put in place. This may include the temporary hire of replacement equipment.
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15 Clinical waste
management
The clinical waste incinerator in operation at George Town landfill with ash transferred to the landfill.
Incinerator at the Cayman Brac landfill has been inoperable for some time (> 6 months) and clinical waste is landfilled.
Review of incinerator operations and clinical waste management practices; including an assessment of stack emissions. Develop and implement a planned maintenance schedule to reduce downtime. Plan for the replacement of the clinical waste incinerator in the medium term.
Carry out feasibility of refurbishment or replacement of incinerator.
Also see 23 below.
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16 Accumulation of
waste oils
Waste oils are managed within a contained area at the George Town landfill; but there is evidence of
Improved management procedures and application to reduce the risk of containment breach. Bail or pump out product from the monitoring well.
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Category Issue Comment Options/Recommendations Priority
some spillage and overtopping of the containment bund (as evidenced by product in monitoring well MW16). Waste oils at Cayman Brac are not stored in any containment. Oil containers recently consolidated for transfer into a large shipping tank but no transfer pump was available.
There is no effective management of waste oil at Little Cayman landfill and evidence of a number of years accumulation of various containers, some of which show evidence of spills, leaks and in some cases pressurisation. There is also an illegal waste oil disposal pit at the site.
Transfer existing oils into shipping tank. Create contained area or bunded storage tank for ongoing waste oil storage.
Transfer existing oils into a shipping tank. Please note that leaking drums and drums that appear to be under pressure may present specific hazardous to site staff and site visitors. This hazard should risk assessed and appropriate protocols and safety measures put in place.
Create contained area or resident bunded storage tank for ongoing waste oil storage.
Prevent access to illegal oil disposal pit and programme the remediation of this area.
1 1 1 1-2 17 Landfill gas: explosion and flammability; asphyxiation Landfill gas as an energy source
Landfill gas is being generated at the George Town and Cayman Brac landfill sites. The gas is flammable and potentially explosive; so no sources of naked flame should be used on the landfill areas. Landfill gas is also an asphyxiant. There should be no man entry into any confined spaces (e.g. pits) within or adjacent to the landfill areas.
The landfill gas produced at George Town landfill could be captured and used to produce energy as part of the remediation and restoration of the landfill site.
Produce and implement control procedures.
A feasibility study to assess potential utilization of landfill gas at George Town should be undertaken as an input into the development of a landfill remediation and restoration plan.
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18 Management of
drop off area (George Town landfill)
There is no effective management or segregation of wastes at the public drop off area at the entrance to the George Town site. Waste becomes mixed within designated skips making it unsuitable for recycling.
Supervision of drop off area required and consideration to close this out of hours. Consider converting the drop area into a HWRC.
Supply of specific recycling skips suited to larger storage and recycling initiatives and markets.
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19 Weighbridge
operations
Observation and data analysis suggests that not all waste entering the
Planned maintenance to reduce potential for weighbridge to be out of action. Improved staffing and recording. Amec Foster Wheeler
Ref No
Category Issue Comment Options/Recommendations Priority
George Town site is weighed. This gives potential misleading data on waste inputs and future forecasts.
There are no weighbridges at the Cayman Brac and Little Cayman sites.
understand that this has already been addressed by the CIG and the DEH.
No change proposed; but number and type of vehicles using the Cayman Brac site should be recorded and some means of applying an average vehicle load determined.
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20 Green (yard)
waste