Incumbent District Nine Representative Hon. Vincent Wheatley has claimed that the territory was set to order four incinerators to improve the waste management issues on the islands, but said the initiative was halted by the current Minister for Health Hon. Marlon Penn.
Wheatley made the claim at a recent debate held for District Nine candidates, which also included Coy Levons of the National Democratic Party (NDP), Shereen Flax-Charles of the Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM) and independent candidate Vernon Vanterpool.
The candidates were each asked on how they would tackle the current waste management crisis in the territory which has been posing both an environmental and a health risk.
Wheatley said his government over the last few years commenced on the journey to have the waste management issue resolved through a consultancy company named Wood Group UK Ltd.
He said one of the recommendations from the company was to order four incinerators for the territory but said Penn did not see it fit to take that particular route.
Efforts by 284 Media to confirm whether Wheatley’s statement on Penn’s action were unsuccessfully as no response was received by Minister Penn up until the publication of this article.
Levons in response to Wheatley’s reply to the question said a strategy or research documents without the appropriate legislation would be futile.
He spoke on the need for having the appropriate legislation in place for enforcement measures.
Replying to Levons, Wheatley said that legislation is already in the works to hopefully be passed in the House of Assembly soon.
Levons also proposed a 4-step approach that he would use to resolve the issue, which include education, legislation, recycling and bulk waste.
Meanwhile, PVIM Flax-Charles said her plan to resolve the waste management issue in the territory would involve a public-private partnership and an investment of $3 million into the initiative.
Vanterpool’s strategy included measures of recycling and an incinerator that burns garbage and turns the waste into electricity.