Lack of waste deal blamed for fire near power station
A FIRE that broke out close to the Teknecik power station, the TRNC’s main power plant, has been blamed on the failure to strike an agreement for the transfer and storage of “green waste”.
Staff at Teknecik, located on the northern coast of the country, threatened to close it down due to the smoke billowing from the rubbish dump, which they said was making working conditions hazardous.
Police said the fire started at around 11.15am last Friday, in a rubbish dump shared by Çatalköy Municipality and Esentepe Municipality.
Firefighters and teams from the Forestry Department, Çatalköy Municipality and the Cyprus Turkish Electricity Authority all helped tackle the blaze.
Pointing to the possible causes of the fire, Çatalköy Mayor Mehmet Hulusioğlu said that because the Güngör Solid Waste Storage Facility, located on the other side of Five Finger mountains and which has also been affected by fires, does not accept “green waste”, some municipalities have resorted to dumping such waste where stone quarries are located, or at “transfer stations” like the one where the fire broke out.
Indicating that a tender for the Güngör Solid Waste Storage Facility and four different transfer stations “was opened but later cancelled”, Mr Hulusioğlu said this has meant there has been “no investment” at the transfer station where the fire broke out.
He emphasised that had the tender been completed, the Güngör Solid Waste Storage Facility would have been able to receive green waste and that a “separation system” would have been installed at the transfer stations.
“We need to establish centres in the area where all kinds of waste will be separated and disposed of, otherwise the municipalities will not be able to cope with such a burden,” Mr Hulusioğlu said.
“The fire was caused by accumulated green waste . . . holding a tender would prevent these types of fires.
“Once an investment is made
in the transfer station, this area will be reforested and the problem will not occur again.”
Girne District Governor Sinan Güneş stated that the place where the fire broke out is an area used as a “domestic waste transfer station” by Çatalköy Municipality, Esentepe Municipality and also Tatlısu Municipality and noted that it is also a “specially reserved” area under the GirneÇatalköy Development Plan.
Mr Güneş said that green waste is also dumped there by other municipalities, as well as “various materials” dumped by private companies that include “construction materials, rubble and car tyres”.
“The area is currently out of control,” Mr Güneş said. “The fire started in a spot where there was green waste. There was a similar fire in the same area about a year ago.
“Çatalköy Municipality is responsible for the area and there is also an EU project.
“Municipalities feel aggrieved because the Güngör Solid Waste Storage Facility does not accept green waste, but this waste must be stored somehow.”
Mr Güneş stated that broken glass among the waste or “any other reason” could cause a fire, and that the location of the rubbish tip next to the Teknecik power plant is “risky”.