The news that the fire at Tynes Bay Incinerator was probably deliberately set on Christmas Day should concern the whole community.

Although Government stated that neither the plant nor the nearby homes were at risk, it is obvious that had the winds been higher, there was every possibility that the blaze could have spread further and done huge damage.

It is worrying that a person would be malicious enough to cause that kind of a risk and to put the lives of firefighters at risk. And the Fire Service again deserves credit for their hard work and skill in containing and then extinguishing the blaze.

No one in Government has stated how much it must have cost to extinguish the fire. Dozens of off-duty firefighters had to be called out over a holiday and hundreds of truck trips were required to clear the debris afterwards. The bill had to have been enormous.

The Ministry of Works and Engineering should be presented with the bill. That's because, without excusing in any way the arsonist or arsonists, the Ministry was partly responsible because it allowed this pile of debris to become so large.

Apparently, some of the debris had been at the incinerator since Hurricane Fabian struck more than 15 months ago, while repairs to the plant meant more waste was allowed to pile up. This is not good enough. This was an accident waiting to happen, and even if there had been no fire, the whole point of having an incinerator is to get rid of waste in a timely manner.

It could be argued that if the Ministry had added a third waste stream, as it has been promising, that this could have been avoided.

That's one answer, but it is surely not the only one. Government's recycling programme remains a shambles. When the recycling workers are actually working, all that gets crushed and exported are soda cans. Glass, bottles, most newsprint and many other recyclables are burned. Very little effort has been made to persuade people to reduce their waste. The Island's roadsides are filthy. Virtually no attempts have been made to persuade local manufacturers and local importers to find ways to reduce packaging.

Bermuda may be the most advanced throwaway society in the world. But if people are serious about sustainable development, then this is surely a place to start, because the Island cannot sustain the kind of waste that we have allowed to build up. We have now seen what can happen when we do.

Water taxis

Among the raft of ideas for the future of tourism unveiled by Tourism and Transport Minister Ewart Brown last week, there was one that may have escaped notice, but deserves support.

That was his call for entrepreneurial young Bermudians to get into the water taxi business.

This is an idea that has been knocking around for some years, but never seems to have gotten anywhere.

But it makes perfect sense for Bermuda, and especially for Hamilton Harbour and the Great Sound. Ferries are restricted by their timetables and the positions of their docks, whereas water taxis could go anywhere at any time to collect visitors and residents. Cell phones, and yes, global positioning systems, would make this a fast and flexible service that should work well.

Clearly, there would have to be regulations with regards to fares and safety. But it is a service that could work almost year round and would be an added attraction for visitors.

Dr. Brown has not always been praised in this space, but he deserves credit for resurrecting this idea and giving it impetus. Now it is up to someone in the private sector to make it happen.