The extension, an above-the-ground technique which sources said will ensure capacity for a maximum of a year, comes as Government took a policy decision to postpone the opening of the controversial Greenland landfill in the Scotland District until a waste transfer station is built. It is understood the transfer station is to be built at Mangrove Pond and construction could start in June. Minister of Health and Environment Liz Thompson confirmed the extended use of Mangrove. She said though the first cell at Greenland will be ready to take garbage from April 1, and the entire facility available by this September, they are extending use of Mangrove so that they would not be operating both facilities at the same time. Thompson stressed that construction of the transfer station will be undertaken during this period.
Consultants recommended Government not operate the Greenland landfill without a waste transfer station because it was needed to minimise environmental and aesthetic impacts along the 14-kilometre trek from the waste centroid to St. Andrew. The waste from 350 trucks daily would be baled at the Mangrove station and transported by ten vehicles to the landfill.
But the extension at Mangrove will not mean bad odour. That assurance comes from landfill superintendent Carl Boxhill. And if the standards are maintained similar to what the SUN team saw on their visit to Mangrove last Wednesday, residents in nearby Bennetts and Arch Hall ­ who were recently compensated with $6 000 per household for years of discomfort due to bad odours from the landfill ­ have little to worry about. Massive amounts of coverage material trucked in from the Greenland site have ensured a very efficient, "clean" and virtually stenchless operation at Mangrove when compared to Mount Stinkeroo which haunted nearby residents for years. Boxhill said excavation was not needed for a new cell. Instead, an area east of the present site is being ringed by clay berm, then the topsoil in the area will be removed and a clay lining put down to create an above-the-ground cell,  should it be needed when the present cell reaches capacity.
The postponement of the start up of Greenland landfill operations pending the construction of the transfer station received the blessing of the Inter-American Development Bank, which is being asked by Government for a loan to fund a substantial chunk of the total cost. Bank officials told the Sun the IDB "concurred" with Government's position to build the transfer station first. The landfill is part of a Solid Waste Management Plan for Barbados estimated to cost US$35 million.