Landfill
delays could have serious consequences
Further
delays in getting the landfill project started could have serious
consequences for Rarotonga says Waste Management Project Steering
Committee chairman, Tuare Tangianau.
Tangianau
who is also chief of staff at the Office of the Prime Minister,
says current methods of waste disposal on the island are unsafe
from both an environmental and health point of view. The present
tip at Nikao is already well past its operating life and should
be closed down as soon as possible.
And
he says more safety features are to be built into the proposed
Ruaau landfill to meet concerns by some local residents that
the small septage ponds to be constructed on the site could
overflow, spilling sewage on to neighbouring land.
Project
manager Mathilda Miria-Tairea says that as a result of a meeting
held last Thursday to discuss the project's Environmental Impact
Assessment, the ponds will be surrounded by a bund that will
contain any spillage.
Other
safety measures have already been built into the pond design
to prevent overflow, she says. However suggestions from some
residents that the ponds should be relocated from the front
to the back of the site would be impractical and costly and
would significantly reduce the planned 20 year life of the landfill.
Another
suggestion that each vaka should have its own landfill is also
impractical, not only from a cost point of view, but also because
of management and land issues.
There
is a shortage of suitable land for waste disposal on Rarotonga
and having several landfills would increase the risk of pollution
and health problems, Miria-Tairea adds.
Tangianau
says there are major benefits in the Ruaau landfill going ahead.
"This
will be the best planned and designed landfill in the region.
We're hoping to make it an example that other Pacific island
countries will want to follow, especially in terms of its efficiency
and minimal impact on the environment.
"At
present most of the island's sewage is simply dumped on vacant
land and it is smelly and unsafe. The present methods of waste
disposal on the island are pretty much substandard. At the new
landfill all of the septage disposal will be on the property
and the environment will be protected.
"The
people that run it will be fully trained and the operation will
not only be constantly monitored, but it will have to pass independent
reviews."
The
nine acre Ruaau site will contain the landfill and septage ponds
and the Rarotonga recycling plant which will be relocated from
Turangi, putting all of the island's waste management facilities
in one place and making them easier to manage.
Reports
by consultants on the Cook Islands' waste disposal problems
have made it clear that both Rarotonga and Aitutaki require
immediate improvements to disposal practices to protect the
environment.
"If
the project does not go ahead, the islands face serious problems
of environmental degradation," one report said.
"Avoiding
this is critical, not only from an environmental standpoint,
but also from an economic view, primarily because the islands
depend heavily on the tourism industry which will suffer if
the environment is left to degenerate."
The
report says Rarotonga generates about 1,100 tonnes of municipal
waste and 1,800 cubic metres of septic sludge each year.
Aitutaki
produces about 260 tonnes of municipal waste and 400 cubic metres
of septic sludge.
The
Aitutaki landfill, which will cost about $US2 million, is set
to go ahead, but the Rarotonga project continues to suffer delays.
Detailed design work is almost complete and should be finished
by next week. However it still has to be checked by an independent
reviewer and the Environment Service.
Hon Dr Robert Woonton, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
Cook Islands Government Press Release. Friday, April 11,
2003
