The Bermuda Democratic Alliance says the use of Morgan's Point as an emergency dumping ground smacks of crisis management.

Deputy leader Kathy Michelmore, who speaks on the environment for the BDA, said people have known for many years that Tynes Bay Incinerator was struggling to cope with the waste produced by the Island.

She was responding to Government's move to transport waste to the former Baseland — adding to the millions of dollars worth of mess left behind by the Americans — while a $22 million refurbishment of Tynes Bay takes place.

"The current situation whereby waste must be baled, transported and stored at Morgan's Point for at least the next three months speaks of crisis management," Dr. Michelmore said on Friday.

"This state of affairs should have been avoided by more careful prioritisation and budget planning for waste management in Bermuda."

Dr. Michelmore said that, back in 1998, the Island was producing enough waste for Tyne's Bay to need two streams functioning at nearly full capacity.

"This made it difficult for routine maintenance to be performed on a regular basis," she said.

She added that, in 2001, late Finance Minister Eugene Cox and then-Works Minister spoke of the incinerator's need to be replaced.

"So where has that planning and assessment led us to?" asked Dr. Michelmore.

"Nine years later, Bermuda produces one of the highest rates of waste per capita in the world, in the region of 67,000 metric tonnes of trash per year.

"Our incinerator has had to shut for long overdue repairs, and we are storing thousands of tonnes of waste at Morgan's Point.

"The people of Bermuda deserve an explanation as to why we have reached this point. Why has investment in maintenance of the Tyne's Bay facility been delayed, and why has it taken till 2010 for plans to be announced regarding a third stream?

"Our level of waste production should cause us embarrassment from an environmental sustainability perspective, and we should be asking why we have not focused on serious initiatives, backed up with legislation, to reduce waste through public education and expanded recycling programmes?

"The Bermuda Democratic Alliance believes that with sound fiscal management and appropriate planning, Bermuda would not be in this situation today. We also assert that greater priority must be given to the viability of our future waste management with an emphasis on waste reduction."

The Ministry of Works and Engineering said work replacing Tynes Bay's furnace and pollution control systems began on Wednesday and will last four months.

Giving details on the contingency plan, a spokesman said in a statement: "This plan involves shredding the waste, forming the shredded material into compacted bales and then securely wrapping the bales in several layers of industrial strength, UV resistant plastic wrap.

"The securely wrapped bales will then be transported from the Tynes Bay facility to a temporary storage location at Morgan's Point, Southampton.

"The public is advised that transporting the bales will occur at night in order to minimise the congestion at the Tynes Bay facility and on the roads leading to the west end."

The bales will be returned to the Tynes Bay facility for energy recovery once the plant is fully operational again.