Waste management practices continue to be a source of embarrassment for Norfolk Island. The ugly Headstone burning area contradicts much of the promotional material that Norfolk puts out. Headstone is a blot on the landscape and needs to be made right. Over the last few years 10's of thousands of dollars have been spent on studies and reviews while precious little has been spent on resolving the problem. Most recently the Norfolk Island Government has spent $6000 on another consultancy. This was to develop an Environmental Impact statement for a development application to permit the use of a locally constructed pit burner at the waste management centre. The EIS failed to convince the Planning Board because of the lack of emission data. This is not surprising as Pit Burners are not designed for the disposal of mixed waste but generally only used for the disposal of timber and forestry waste.
A properly configured and located air curtain incinerator would give improved burning efficiency no doubt, but locating it at the Waste Management Centre would not be acceptable.
A purpose built high temperature with emission scrubbers would be more likely to gain approval, however it appears that the former CEO, George Plant did not support such a development.
In the meantime the Headstone burning area is a disgrace. The Norfolk Island Island Government needs to, at the very least, provide some basic infrastructure at this location to demonstrate its commitment to progressive improvement of Norfolk's waste management practices.
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