Bridgetown.
Six weeks after a massive fire at B's Recycling Plant, Minister of the Environment Dr Denis Lowe has fiinally spoken on the matter.
Speaking in the House of Assembly yesterday, has defended the contribution of B’s Recycling to Barbados while stressing that his ministry was not responsible for “managing” the fire at the plant’s Cane Garden St Thomas site in March.
Lowe said the responsibility for handling the fire fell to the Ministry of Home Affairs, and that he respected the remit of that ministry and its responsibilities.
The Minister assured residents that their legitimate concerns are being addressed noting that government will not stay silent while Barbadians are in distress.
However, his ministry had decided who should “go forward” and had tried to understand by comprehensive assessment what was happening in Bagatelle and what was likely to impact the residents then, he said.
“I hear people talking about the Minister of the Environment sitting quietly and saying nothing, and there are people who were there who have said more,” he told parliamentarians.
“The remit for managing that fire at B’s was not that of the Ministry of the Environment it was the Ministry of Home Affairs,” he said.
Lowe also said the Environmental Protection Department, which fell under his portfolio, had been the first agency on the Bagatelle site and had reported to him within 48 hours.
Lowe stated that as soon as the fire was reported, the various state agencies went to work to ensure there was order and professionalism in tackling a problem of that magnitude brought about by the fire at B's recycling.
The Minister strongly defended the contribution of B's Recycling to Barbados. He said it's provided a vital national service collecting and exporting 38 percent of Barbados' total waste or 27,540 tonnes of waste a year, creating jobs and foreign exchange in the process.
He also put forward a case for those in the business of recycling in Barbados saying government is committed to ensuring that recyclers are placed out of harm’s way and is providing the physical space for them at Vaucluse.
According to Lowe, Barbados would have a major problem disposing old cars without the presence of firms like B's Recycling at Cane Garden St Thomas.
He made the comments leading off debate on a resolution to approve the compulsory acquisition of land at Vaucluse St Thomas for the expansion of the Mangrove Pond landfill, where B's and other recyclers will now be located. 
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