Committee proposes alternative use for waste

Committee proposes alternative use for waste
Published: Thursday December 18, 2008
A tractor unloads marl, to be used as a buffer at a Windalco mud lake in Kendal, Manchester, in this March 2006 photograph. The Bunting committee has turned the spotlight on environmental concerns in the sector. - file
A COMMITTEE of Parliament, which deliberated on the future of the bauxite industry, has recommended that research be conducted with a view to finding ways of recycling waste from bauxite production.
The committee, chaired by Central Manchester Member of Parliament, Peter Bunting, delivered its report to the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Approximately 40 per cent of every load of bauxite gets sent to a mud lake as waste.
The committee expressed concern that bauxite waste might have grave environmental consequences.
Bauxite is a major foreign-exchange earner for Jamaica, grossing in excess of US$1 billion per annum. Some 26 per cent of land in Jamaica contains the ore, but many persons in bauxite-rich communities are keen to know post-production ramifications.
Industry standards
Socioeconomic, environmental and health concerns have been highlighted by the committee.
The Bunting committee recommended the establishment of dust- and noise-monitoring stations as a means of forcing bauxite companies to meet industry standards. The group proposed that the levels of dust not only be evaluated in bauxite areas, but also in surrounding communities.
The committee also recommended that research be pursued on the health and environmental impact on employees and communities affec-ted by bauxite and mining.
It also suggested that areas of ecological importance in bauxite-producing regions be closed to mining.
Greener Jamaica
Underscoring a commitment to a greener Jamaica, the committee said policies should be implemented to protect the environment, "including the use of more environmentally friendly processes in the extraction of bauxite and identifying the deposits' depths".
On the social perspective, the committee suggested an independent body be established to assess the value of lands in bauxite areas to ensure that citizens get appropriate remuneration.
The report to the House cited an instance of one woman who, after 10 years, is still to receive compensation for land from which she was relocated to accommodate bauxite production.
The Bunting committee also said that resettlement from an original property also poses severe problems, including the break-up of family structures and challenges of integration into new communities.
Play greater role
Meanwhile, the parliamentary group has suggested that bauxite companies play a greater role in the development of communities in which they operate.
"Companies need to give back more to generate economic and social development in the affected communities, as there is life after bauxite," the committee concluded.
Government had set out a framework for bauxite companies to contribute to the development of communities by way of a levy on production.
However, many members of parliament who represent bauxite-producing communities, as well as citizens, have complained that money from the levy was often channelled towards budgetary support and not for its intended purpose; community development.
daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com.