Proper methods to dispose of fish and chicken offal

The Sanitation Service Authority is concerned with how fish and chicken processors are disposing of their waste.

All offal from chicken and fish processors must not be sent to the Mangrove Pond Landfill – the right way is to send it fresh (same day) to the Rendering Plant in Balls Plantation, Christ Church. They operate between 7:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday to Friday.

Barbadians are reminded that chicken feathers and chicken intestines must be sent together to the Plant once it is fresh from the same day, this also applies to fresh fish offal – but with the fish offal, it must be chopped into fine pieces.

Please note, the heads of billfish, albacore and turpits are not allowed at the Rendering Plant (they can only be sent to the Mangrove Pond Landfill if they are fresh from the same day). Only fish or chicken, no other meat carrion should be sent to the Christ Church complex for rendering.

The waste that is not accepted by the Rendering Plant will only be accepted by Mangrove if it is fresh from the same day, please call 419-7501 or -7502 to make arrangements.

If there are any queries concerning the Rendering Plant, please call 418-8053 or send a fax to 420-5797 ahead of time.

Sanitation and the Rendering Plant appreciate all immediate cooperation with this important matter.

Consideration when parking needed in Bourne’s Village & Grassfield

The Sanitation Service Authority is reminding all motorists to please park your vehicles so as to allow for the easy passage of all SSA trucks in your neighbourhood – day or night.

In particular, concerns have been recently expressed in both Bourne’s Village, St George and Grassfield, St Philip – people who have large vehicles are especially urged to park bearing their neighbours in mind. Make it easier for SSA compactors to remove waste from all households.

The SSA thanks the public for their active support and co-operation, and let’s all work together to keep Barbados clean!

Town Hall Meeting at St Luke’s Skills Training Centre on Wed. 05/03/2008

The St George South District Emergency Organisation with the Ministries of Environment & Health will be hosting a Town Hall meeting at the St Luke’s Skills Training Centre at 7:00 pm on Wednesday 5^th March 2008.

This meeting is for the following areas only – French’s, Upper Brighton, Melverton, The Mount, The Mount Tenantry and The Mount Development – persons from the community will be brought up to date on the best ways for combatting illegal dumping and the benefits of recycling.

Talks at the St Luke’s Skills Training Centre will be given by – the Sanitation Service Authority, the Environmental Protection Department, the Solid Waste Project Unit and the Vector Control Unit.

A question and answer session will be run after the presentations – all residents from – French’s, Upper Brighton, Melverton, The Mount, The Mount Tenantry and The Mount Development – are asked to make a special effort to attend the St Luke’s Skills Training Centre at seven o’clock, Wednesday night on 5^th March 2008. Together, we can all keep Barbados clean!

Refuse arrangements in the City during Throne Speech of Parliament

The Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) is asking all businesses in and around Parliament to not put out their refuse between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm.

The SSA appreciates all cooperation given and urges everyone to keep Barbados clean.

US Supermarket chain's trucking fleet shifts to biodiesel

Safeway grocery trucks no longer just deliver vegetables. In a sense, they now run on vegetables, too. Safeway, the nation's third-largest grocery chain, said Friday that its entire nationwide trucking fleet now uses biodiesel, a renewable fuel that can be made from plant oils, used cooking grease or animal fat.

In Safeway's case, the biodiesel comes from soy oil or canola oil. It is blended with regular petroleum diesel before being pumped into the company's more than 1,000 trucks. The move is part of Safeway's broader effort to green its operations.

The Pleasanton company buys much of its electricity from wind farms, has switched to energy-efficient refrigeration and lighting, and is installing solar panels on 24 of its California stores.

Biodiesel generally produces less air pollution than diesel made from petroleum. And it helps rein in greenhouse gas emissions because the plants used to make it absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Safeway won't reveal how much fuel it's buying or the price it's paying. Biodiesel typically costs more than regular diesel.

The price increased last year as some farmers switched from growing soybeans to growing corn, hoping to tap into the growing market for another alternative fuel - corn-based ethanol. Safeway estimates that using the biodiesel blend will cut the company's carbon dioxide emissions by 75 million pounds each year, the equivalent of taking 7,500 cars off the road.

SSA clean up of Drax Hall concludes – 50 tonnes removed!

The Sanitation Service Authority successfully removed 14 truckloads of bulky waste from Bydes Mill, Drax Hall Woods, Drax Hall Jump and Drax Hall.

Sanitation sent 50 tonnes of bulky waste for processing; both ten-wheeler trucks and small open-backed lorries were used to complete the work.

SSA Superintendent of the South Terence Mitchell, SSA Plant Superintendent Derek Brereton coordinated with Basil Pilgrim, Senior Environmental Health Officer to direct teams removing bundles of wood, sheets of galvanise, old refrigerators in addition to stoves as well as other bulky items.

The bulky waste removal is part of the SSA’s ongoing programme to encourage everyone to keep Barbados clean all the time.

Sanitation conducts seminar with Eden Lodge Day Nursery students

The Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) was recently invited to the Eden Lodge Day Nursery to teach their infants how to be cleaner at all times.

Lorryloader Hyacinth Rodgers told the class you have to be very careful with broken glass and told the little ones that glass must be wrapped in newspaper before bagging it for collection.

The pupils also learned that all refuse must go in a bin and placed in that bin on the night before collection, they also discovered how containers should be rinsed before placing in a bag and any cartons should be flattened when disposed.

Driver Darnley Callender showed the children a hands-on experience of sitting at the steering wheel and letting them pull the loud air-horn.

The youngsters especially loved the chance to sit inside the vehicle in addition to actually seeing how a compactor works.

The SSA is also inviting all primary schools and nurseries to call us for similar talks each Wednesday on what is best for the environment, and the SSA will organise accordingly.