President and CEO of Renew Bahamas Gehard Beukes said the forthcoming Materials Recycling Facility will create jobs for at least 130 residents.

Mr. Beukes made the announcement about the multi-faceted 125,000 square foot facility back in February of this year, where he stated that the facility would process up to 80 tons of waste per hour and “position The Bahamas as a regional leader in waste management.”

“We aim to employ about 130 people by summer time. In line with that, we’re employing 61 people at the moment, employing another 20 within the next two weeks as we ramp up to full production, which will be by summer time,” Mr. Beukes said.

Mr. Beukes’ comments came following his address to members of the Bahamas Society of Engineers (BSE) whom he says are professionals whose knowledge can help fight some of the issues Renew Bahamas has faced since taking over the Harold Road landfill site last year.

“I think it’s important to update as many professional groups and interest groups on the landfill. People are citizens but also professionals in the country and regardless of what we eventually end up doing with specific problems that exist in the landfill, we would need the support and the information bank that exists at a society such as this. There’s an immense amount of knowledge in a room like this and to actually be in a position where we can potentially tap into the BSE would be of tremendous value to us,” Mr. Beukes stated.

The Materials Recycling Facility is expected to begin operations by May with the hopes of making recycling a reality in The Bahamas.