New Landfill Deal.
Will provide much needed relief for Roatan’s waste concerns.
Tourism has increased on Roatan, and we have had the distinct pleasure of showing the world part of the beauty that Honduras has to offer.
As a consequence of our growth, the island of Roatan has had difficulties with its landfills and with the disposal of its waste. This is due to the limited amount of land available for landfills. In recent months, we saw the perpetual burning of our landfill and the inability of local officials to put out the flames.
Now, the local Municipality of Roatan has announced the purchase of new land which will give the existing landfill some relief. The new landfill will benefit from better design, and it will help Roatan address its growing waste challenges.
In late 2018, the only landfill on Roatan caught fire and the dump burned for days. Local officials were unable to put out the fire which generates toxic gases to nearby residents. The landfill fire became the headline of many local papers and also caught the attention of the international community. At one point, almost a quarter of the island was in a haze culminating from the resilient fire. The cloud of smoke lingered for months.
Here is what the local Mayor's Office had to say about the newly acquired property:
Roatan Municipality Communicator
"Starting the year, Roatan Mayor Jerry Hynds signed the purchase agreement for the land where a new sanitary landfill will be built.
This land consists of 73 acres, and its price amounts to L. 30 million lempiras (roughly $1.2MM).
Hynds indicated "Not only did we sign the deal, but we have also already made a good faith payment for part of the balance, we are coming to the end of the year and we are closing the year well-achieving something we work for ten months but thank God, the land is already a municipal asset “
The mayor explained that there are 73 acres of land and that they intend to do several things not only establish the municipal crematorium, with the objective that the locals have the standard of living they deserve.
After acquiring the land, the official added that it would proceed to carry out a study and seek financing because the cost is above the capacity of the island community.
"We are doing what we can to ensure that the current crematorium is there to live in an environment of the quality that locals deserve.”
Julio Galindo who was the seller said: “ Things were done as they should be done legally, this took from February until today, and we were able to obtain the resolution of national assets since the garbage problem is not only the mayor's problem, it is also everybody's problem, and we have to do what we can to collaborate “.
In addition to the land sale, Mr. Galindo gave several ideas about how to improve the garbage problem sustainably.
Regarding his first year of management Hynds said: "I am never satisfied with my achievements, I wish we would have finished the streets we started, although we are 85% to 90% is not finished, because of the new year I wanted to start with new things".
