The Cayman Islands is a small archipelago of roughly 87,000 residents, yet it operates a high-density tourism economy that welcomed 437,842 stay-over visitors in 2024 (Cayman Marl Road, 2025) and 792,880 cruise passengers in the first nine months of that year (Cayman Compass, 2024). This tourism concentration has steadily increased the volume of waste flowing into Grand Cayman's single landfill, the George Town Landfill—locally nicknamed "Mount Trashmore." The facility currently handles around 130,000 tonnes of solid waste per year (124,125 tonnes in 2024, Cayman Compass, 2025), with roughly 780,000 cubic yards of remaining capacity—an estimated six years of life within the currently developed area (Department of Environmental Health, 2025). Against the backdrop of waste challenges shared across Caribbean tourism economies, this report examines the projects Cayman has attempted, their costs and results, and the next steps.
1. Waste Generation and Related Challenges
A significant share of the Cayman Islands' waste pressure originates not from its resident population but from tourism flows. The same structure is observed across the Caribbean: ten of the world's thirty highest per-capita waste generators are reported to be in the Caribbean region (elearncollege, 2024). Across Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole, 424,000 tonnes of waste are generated daily, yet less than 35% is processed into regulated sanitary landfills (UNEP CEP).
Cruise tourism is an additional contributing factor. In nearby Antigua, more than 1,200 tonnes of waste offloaded from cruise ships were recorded in a single year (cited by the BBC), and challenges remain in the capacity of port infrastructure to absorb it. With its single-landfill structure and limited land area, Cayman likewise faces a growing need for waste diversification and reduction.
| Indicator | Figure | Source (year) |
|---|---|---|
| Annual landfilled waste | ~130,000 tonnes (124,125 in 2024) | Cayman Compass (2025) |
| Remaining landfill capacity | ~780,000 cubic yards | DEH (2025) |
| Monthly fill rate | ~13,000 cubic yards | DEH (2025) |
| Remaining life | ~6 years (10–11 with expansion) | DEH (2025) |
| Stay-over visitors | 437,842 | Cayman Marl Road (2024) |
| Cruise passengers (Jan–Sep) | 792,880 | Cayman Compass (2024) |
2. The Project to Address the Issue: Project ReGen
To break its dependence on landfilling, the Cayman government selected a Dart-led consortium in 2017 and advanced Project ReGen, an integrated treatment facility centred on waste-to-energy (WtE) (Cayman Compass, 2017). ReGen was designed to divert up to 95% of waste from landfill through a new waste system and to contribute 8.5 MW of renewable energy to the grid (regen.ky).
Because ReGen aimed at an integrated facility combining recycling, green-waste processing and energy recovery—rather than simple incineration—it holds reference value as a waste-strategy model for small, tourism-based island states. Its design capacity and energy-recovery targets offer insights for Caribbean nations facing tourism-dependence and land constraints similar to Cayman's.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Delivery model | Dart-led consortium, private financing |
| Initial proposal | 2017 |
| Diversion target | Up to 95% |
| Renewable energy supply | 8.5 MW |
| Original completion target | 2024 |
3. Costs Incurred and Results
Project ReGen was initially agreed at a scale of CI$205 million, financed by Dart (regen.ky). Over seven years of negotiations, however, unresolved issues such as the power-purchase agreement (PPA) and rising costs accumulated, with project costs referenced at one point at around CI$1.5 billion (Cayman Compass).
The government terminated the ReGen project in July 2024, and following termination it was settled that the government would pay up to CI$17.7 million for work performed by the Dart consortium and verified by government (Cayman Compass, 2025). The large single WtE project, pursued over seven years, thus concluded without reaching completion, and Cayman's waste strategy shifted in direction from a large single facility toward a distributed, reduction-focused approach.
| Item | Amount/Result | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Initial project cost | CI$205 million | regen.ky |
| Scale referenced after negotiation | Up to CI$1.5 billion | Cayman Compass |
| Termination | July 2024 | Cayman Compass |
| Exit settlement | Up to CI$17.7 million | Cayman Compass (2025) |
4. Next Steps: A New National Waste Strategy
After ReGen's termination, the Cayman government presented in 2025 a new 10-year, CI$10 million solid-waste strategy (Cayman News Service, 2025). Instead of a single large facility, the strategy centres on expanded recycling and landfill diversion, with the goal of matching the level of other small island nations in the region that already divert more than half of their waste away from landfilling (Cayman Compass, 2025).
The detailed plan follows a phased approach. A business case for a green-waste processing facility is to begin in early 2026, targeting operation by 2027, with work on a material recovery facility (MRF) starting in parallel. New tipping sites are also planned on crown land around the landfill (an environmental impact assessment of the area has been completed), and in 2026 a duty exemption on recycling equipment was introduced as a complementary policy incentive (Cayman News Service, 2026).
| Phase | Detail | Target timing |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Green-waste facility business case | Early 2026 |
| Phase 2 | Green-waste facility operational / MRF starts | 2027 |
| Phase 3 | New tipping sites and recycling infrastructure | Phased |
| Policy | Duty exemption on recycling equipment | 2026 |
Summary and Key Takeaways
The Cayman Islands case offers a compact illustration of the waste challenges commonly faced by tourism-dependent small island states. Tourism flows that are large relative to the resident population place an annual burden of roughly 130,000 tonnes on a single landfill, and with limited remaining life, the need for a structural response is evident in the data.
Project ReGen, advanced as a solution, was an integrated WtE model targeting 95% diversion and 8.5 MW of energy recovery, but accumulated cost increases and contract-negotiation challenges led to its termination in 2024. Concluding from an initial CI$205 million scale to a CI$17.7 million exit settlement, the process illustrates the variables a large single project can face in long-term negotiation and financing structures.
Cayman subsequently adjusted course toward a CI$10 million distributed, reduction-focused strategy. The approach of phasing in a green-waste facility (targeted for 2027), an MRF, expanded tipping sites and duty-exemption incentives reflects how tourism-based island states are seeking balance between a single large facility and distributed treatment. For Caribbean tourism economies with similar conditions, Cayman's experience holds reference value not only in facility design but also in project structuring and phased implementation.
References
- Cayman Compass. (2025). Mount Trashmore continues to grow with no solution in sight. (caymancompass.com)
- Cayman Compass. (2025). Government to pay $17.7M to Dart to exit landfill deal. (caymancompass.com)
- Cayman Compass. (2017). Dart chosen to build new waste management facility. (caymancompass.com)
- Cayman News Service. (2025). Reduce, recycle at heart of new CI$10M waste plan. (caymannewsservice.com)
- Cayman News Service. (2026). Recycling tools to be duty free as CIG switches gear on waste. (caymannewsservice.com)
- Project ReGen. FAQs. (regen.ky)
- UNEP Caribbean Environment Programme. Solid Waste and Marine Litter. (unep.org)
- Canada Caribbean Institute. (2025). Sun, sea and trash: The Caribbean islands struggling with managing waste. (canadacaribbeaninstitute.org)
- Cayman Marl Road. (2025). Cayman records 2% growth in stay-over tourism in 2024. (caymanmarlroad.com)