planned, a turbine that powers the plant electrically is still not working, Works and Engineering Minister the Hon. Leonard Gibbons said recently.

"We do have a problem with the turbine,'' the Minister told a United Bermuda Party conference over the weekend. "The generator should be repaired early in the new year.'' Mr. Gibbons, who said the incinerator was nonetheless operating around the clock, told listeners that it was the contractor's responsibility to fix the problem.

He did not say what the exact nature of the problem was.

Yesterday, the Minister refused to comment on the subject when he was contacted by The Royal Gazette .

He said his remarks on the incinerator were directed at party members only and were not for public consumption, although tickets for the conference had been touted in The Royal Gazette a few days before it took place and UBP executive officer Mrs. Kathy Gibbons had been informed that a Royal Gazette reporter, who subsequently purchased a ticket, planned to attend.

Said Mr. Gibbons: "I will not clarify anything that was said for the benefit of the party only.'' A woman who lives in the area around the incinerator later told The Gazette that Mr. Gibbons had made residents aware of the turbine problem at a meeting he had held with them to discuss related concerns.

Minister has no comment on turbine September, was called to address neighbourhood complaints about the stench, noise and vibrations emanating from the burner.

"They can't generate any electricity. It has nothing to do with the burning,'' the woman said yesterday, adding: "She (the incinerator) has been burning up garbage for the last few nights.'' In related news, the Works Minister also hinted to the UBP conference that the Island's two-year-old recycling programme will be drastically altered or perhaps even abandoned.

"We are thoroughly reviewing the recycling programme,'' he said, adding that it cost $526 to dispose of a ton of metal cans through the scheme.

In a sign of the possible alternatives, the Minister gave an indirect plug to incineration when he said the Tynes Bay facility was producing 30 ash blocks a day for use in land reclamation at Castle Harbour.