ENDLESS ACRES of unused land.
Lush vegetation, overgrown brush, an abundance of healthy-looking mango and other fruit trees.
Such is the state of the Greenland landfill, which was designated as a site for the landfill under a Barbados Labour Party Government in the late 1990s.
It was constructed in 1997, and almost 15 years later the St Andrew site still remains idle.
Controversy surrounded the designation of the site as a landfill from the start, with various parties voicing the pros and cons of having the landfill in the Scotland District, which has a history of slippage.
It is believed that the Greenland issue was at the root of then Minister of Health Liz Thompson’s sacking from the Owen Arthur Cabinet in 1999.
Development of the site was put on hold in that same year after the Arthur Government, via Minister of Health Philip Goddard, admitted there were leaks.
A WEEKEND NATION team visited the site and there is still no work going on there, but the brush and fruit trees and giant African snails, which have taken over the place, are thriving.
Twenty acres of the landfill is being used by Corey Lane and the team at Nature Fun Ranch. Late Prime Minister David Thompson was behind that acquisition.
Lane and his group rear Black Belly sheep and ducks, which made a meal of the snails. He said they were looking at expanding their reach to agriculture.
Stanton Alleyne, general manager of the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA), which is responsible for Greenland, confirmed that there was no activity going on there.
He said there was a maintenance staff in place to keep the grass down and “maintain the integrity of the landfill”.
Alleyne said the SSA was awaiting “direction” on the St Andrew site.
The WEEKEND NATION understands that an agricultural project is being considered. It is not clear whether it is the one Lane is proposing to get into or a separate venture.
When queried about that possibility, Minister of the Environment Denis Lowe would only say: “Greenland is currently under consideration by Government, and in the very, very near future Government will have an official announcement.”
Greenland was one of the sites targeted for Soca Royale last year after Farley Hill, which was used in 2009, was deemed inadequate. Bushy Park, St Philip, got the nod ahead of Greenland.
“Greenland is an ideal kind of venue. It offers a natural amphitheatre kind of atmosphere . . . but there is a lot of work to be done there . . . .
It is something that we will be looking at for next year,” then Minister of Culture Steve Blackett said at the time.
Soca Royale, which encompasses the Party Monarch and Sweet Soca competitions, will be held at Bushy Park for the second consecutive year on July 24.
