Bahamas Government considers strong action to adequately address the disposal of carbon-polluting items such as motor vehicles, tires and appliances

Environmental levy would be beneficial, minister says
By JIMENITA SWAIN ~ Guardian Senior Reporter ~ jimenita@nasguard.com:


The government is serious about taking strong action to adequately address the disposal of carbon-polluting items such as motor vehicles, tires and appliances, Minister of the Environment Dr. Earl Deveaux said yesterday.

The pledge to impose environmental levies was made recently in the Speech from the Throne.

Under the proposal, a $150 levy would be tacked on for an imported vehicle less than three years old and $200 for a vehicle over three years old. Fifteen dollars would be attached to washing machines; $15 to dryers; $10 to televisions and $10 to mattresses, among other items.

"At this point the levy will go into a special account and that will help defray the cost of eventual disposal whether it be to export it, to recycle it or to compress it or compact it," Deveaux said.

"You will have a dedicated stream of funding that would enable you to dispose of this thing that eventually needs to be disposed of."

A major concern at this point in New Providence is maintaining the landfill to make use of the 50-year life cycle, he said.

He added that the landfill should be managed in a way so that there could be income generated from recyclable material, which in essence would extend the life of the landfill.

The aim is to convert the waste to useful energy, Deveaux explained.

He noted that in 2003 the government approved a tipping fee at the solid waste facilities.

"That tipping fee was imposed on all solid waste coming into the New Providence facility and when that tipping fee was approved in the regulations, the schedule actually had attached to it another set of items that would attract an environmental levy," Deveaux explained.

Those items included, washers, dryers, refrigerators, microwaves, vehicles, all type of tires from cars, trucks, and motorcycles, the minister said.

"There is a schedule attached to each of them that indicates a cost for disposal. The idea is that when these items are imported into the country, brand new or used, attached to the cost of importing would be a levy that would be used to dispose of them when they are eventually disposed of," he said.

There are any number of derelict vehicles around New Providence and unless the market is good, he said the cars simply litter the landscape.

"When the fire broke out at the [derelict vehicle facility] a few months ago there were 400,000 tires there. Unless we have a means of converting them to energy of some sort or recycling them in some way, they harbor mosquitos, rodents and are a real issue to the public health," Deveaux said.

"...When somebody's refrigerator, washer, dryer, or any appliance reaches its useful life, many of them end up in the back of yards, many of them end up in the forests, some of them that are collected end up at the dump."


April 27, 2010

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