Improving the Caroni Ramsar Nature Reserve –Reducing the impact of Beetham Landfill and surroundings in Trinidad

Litter from landfills affects wetlands, oceans, and seas worldwide, causing a loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. One significant source of marine litter is waste from dumpsites near the coast. TAUW Nederland, Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the Caribbean, and SWMCOL worked in the past years on reducing the impact of the 92-hectare Beetham Landfill in Trinidad. The project aimed to introduce and transfer knowledge on the available practices for determining the migration of litter and leachate and to review the possibilities for pollution capture at the Beetham Landfill.

The consortium determined the migration of waste (including plastics) in the Beetham Landfill using innovative methods and investigated, and developed methods for the capture of microplastics and sediments. The chosen method for the capture system was further developed into a conceptual design. One of the innovative methods for waste migration assessment was research into the possibility of using heavy metals as a proxy for microplastics. An important outcome is that the analytical method was ineffective due to the high petroleum hydrocarbon content in some of the samples interfering with extraction in the laboratory. However, the consortium did successfully build the capacity for microplastic analysis in the local lab Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI). TAUW bv, BCRC-Caribbean, and SWMCOL intend to advance the work at the Beetham Landfill to facilitate the remediation activities. The project puts the Beetham Landfill on the map as an example of successful litter management.

Learn more about the project via this link, or in this video below.

Contact information

Any questions? We are happy to provide information.

Guido van der Coterlet
 +31 61 16 43 67 2
guido.vandecoterlet@tauw.com
LinkedIn