Nearly three years after the government contracted the Virginia company Consutech Systems to supply parts to repair the fire-damaged incinerator in Pockwood Pond, many of the parts have not arrived …
January 27, 2025
December 5, 2024
No end in sight for incinerator fix
Nearly three years after a fire shut down the Pockwood Pond incinerator, the Virginia company hired to supply replacement parts still has not delivered most of them, and the government …
August 30, 2024
Dumpsite to be expanded
As workers loaded trash on Monday behind the incinerator building in Pockwood Pond, Waste Management Director Marcus Solomon pointed up to a wooded area on the nearby hillside. The site, …
June 13, 2024
First week of hurricane season brings floods
The first week of the Atlantic Hurricane Season brought heavy rains that caused landslides, power outages and flooding across much of the territory. On June 5-6, some 9.5 inches fell …
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December 27, 2023
The new waste director’s trial by fire
Waste Management Director Marcus Solomon stood with his back to the non-operational incinerator December 14, watching a front-end loader scrape clean the dumpsite tipping area at Pockwood Pond. He crossed …
December 15, 2023
Garbage catches fire again
Early Saturday morning, garbage caught fire in the tipping area at the Pockwood Pond dumpsite, but the blaze was brought under control before it damaged the buildings or other infrastructure …
December 1, 2023
Incinerator gets parts, but others still needed
As waste crises plague the territory’s two most populated islands, government is working to complete long-delayed repairs to the Tortola incinerator and to bring Virgin Gorda a safer landfill, according …
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September 7, 2023
Incinerator fix promised by December
The trash incinerator at Pockwood Pond is expected to be operational again by the end of the year, Department of Waste Management Director Marcus Solomon said during a community meeting …
June 8, 2023
Sargassum knocked out power amid heat wave
Four days after government hosted a workshop to train public officers how to handle sargassum, the seaweed caused a widespread power outage on Sunday as the territory was affected by …
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June 3, 2022
Incinerator repair date bumped again
After two fires at the Pockwood Pond dump last month sent thick smoke over West End and beyond, Health and Social Development Minister Marlon Penn said May 26 in the …
March 31, 2022
Pockwood Pond incinerator down for six months or more
Shortly after a fire caused extensive damage to the Pockwood Pond incinerator on Feb. 14, Health and Social Development Minister Carvin Malone said the facility would likely be offline for …
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February 28, 2022
EDITORIAL: Incinerator woes expose government inaction
Yet again, a fire has shut down the Pockwood Pond incinerator. Yet again, the resulting trash buildup will inevitably cause fires at the nearby landfill, and toxic smoke will blow …
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February 25, 2022
Malone: Incinerator likely down for two-to-four months
After a fire broke out at the Pockwood Pond incinerator last week and hobbled its operations, Health and Social Development Minister Carvin Malone said in a Tuesday interview that he …
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November 25, 2021
Landowners ‘dismayed’ over approval for lobster farm that was previously denied
British entrepreneur Giles Cadman received bad news in early 2020. That January, the Virgin Islands Planning Authority rejected his company’s proposal to build a nearly three-acre lobster farm beside the …
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November 25, 2021
How many lobsters? Company’s numbers, plans shift
In a series of 2017 Facebook videos, British entrepreneur Giles Cadman stands beside the ocean and describes his company’s plan to build a lobster farm next to the protected Beef …
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May 14, 2021
EDITORIAL: The waste strategy is great, but it must be followed
The territory’s outdated waste disposal system is nothing short of a national crisis, and it is endangering residents’ health and degrading the environment. We are therefore glad that the government …
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April 27, 2021
Malone grilled on pollution scrubber
The Pockwood Pond incinerator is back burning trash after six weeks offline, but Health and Social Development Minister Carvin Malone came under fire in the House of Assembly last week …
April 16, 2021
Incinerator back up after weeks offline
The Pockwood Pond incinerator is burning trash again after being offline for about six weeks, during which residents complained frequently about the fires and smoke from the landfill behind the …
January 14, 2021
Plans in motion to clear Pockwood scrap
Leaders recently commended the territory’s WE RECYCLE programme, which they said diverted an estimated 3,328 tonnes of recyclable materials from the incinerator and landfill to two established recycling centres. “This …
August 14, 2020
Fire breaks out in Pockwood landfill
Clouds of black smoke billowed from the landfill behind the Pockwood Pond incinerator after the area caught fire on Monday, but by the following day the flames had abated and …
March 4, 2020
COMMENTARY — VI urged to stop open burning
Recycling aluminium cans, glass and plastic is a wonderful, positive first step! But let’s take the second step: Let’s stop open burning. The detrimental effects of open burning at Pockwood …
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January 30, 2020
Government working to fire up incinerator
Fires have been burning at Pockwood Pond over the past week, some intentional and some not. The incinerator was fired up again on Friday after more than a year, and …
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December 20, 2019
Pockwood Pond incinerator control panel installed
The new control panel for the nonfunctional Pockwood Pond incinerator has been installed by Consutech Systems LLC, and Skelton Electric Limited is completing the final electrical works, Health and Social …
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October 7, 2019
Incinerator part still not shipped, but repairs ‘nearing completion’
Electricity has been restored to the incinerator at Pockwood Pond, and repairs are “nearing completion” even though a needed part still has not been shipped from the United States, government …
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August 28, 2019
Housing effort needs funds, Malone says
The government has received more than 600 applications for housing assistance since January 2018, representing over $43 million in funding requests, Health and Social Development Minister Carvin Malone said on …