Landfills are no longer the answer, says Sigatoka Town Council and veteran architect Adish Naidu.
Mr Naidu is working alongside the Asian Development Bank and the UN to lead a pilot program that will introduce a sorting facility at the Coral Coast town’s dumping site.
“We are talking with the ADB and the UN to find a new landfill in a neutral area but we are saying that a landfill is not the option now and we need to start burning the rubbish,” Mr Naidu said.
“Burning so that we can eventually clear it out over time.”
He said a feasibility study was underway for dumping site where a waste separating facility would also be housed.
“For now, the UN is undertaking a survey to identify an area for a landfill and how we can set up a system on the rubbish dump site to separate all types of waste including recyclables.
“So landfill is no longer the answer, and I have said this before if you look at the river near the Naboro landfill, you will see the water colour is different. So chemicals actually seep into nearby rivers eventually.
“We had a look at a system in India where they burn everything, and you get ashes and all of the toxic chemicals you form into a tar. The tar you can use to burn for energy and the ash you can use for fertiliser.
“So we are looking at adopting that system.”
