Mangrove Pond Landfill is bursting at the seams and by next week there will be no more room for the 500 tonnes of trash generated daily. Sources revealed that the last above-the-ground cell, which was opened at the St. Thomas landfill earlier this year and given a life-span of 26 weeks, was "almost full".

Some employees fear that with the massive increase of trash generated  at Christmas-time and the increase during the winter tourist season, which starts in three weeks, a major problem once again looms at the landfill. They believe that an immediate alternative must be found for the garbage until the ultra-modern one at Greenland, St. Andrew, is opened.

"That cell should have been closed ever since but we are just trying to prolong it," said another source. "There is just no more room there."

What is even more worrying to workers is that if something is not done soon and conditions at the landfill deteriorate to the Mount Stinkeroo days, they are the ones who will get the blame. Senior officials of the Ministry of Health are to meet this morning to discuss the matter, a source within the ministry said.

Mangrove was derisively dubbed Mount Stinkeroo in the early 1990s because of the huge mountains of garbage at the disposal site. At that time fires also erupted at the site, sending choking smoke into the surrounding districts of Arch Hall and Bennetts and forcing Minister of Health Liz Thompson to call out the Fire Service and other emergency services to bring the situation under control.

Since then the landfill has been meticulously managed with six inches of cover material being  applied daily and 12 inches at the end of every week.