ST. EUSTATIUS – Effective the start of the second week of April the Public Entity of St. Eustatius has started the clean-up of three illegal dumpsites on the island. The project is being executed by the Directorate of Economy and Infrastructure in collaboration with the St. Eustatius Waste Management Solutions. “The impact and effect of these illegal dumpsites is not limited to the environment. These also have serious consequences for public health which for me is the most concerning”, states Government Commissioner,” Marcolino Franco.
The three illegal dumpsites are located; on the cliff side near the Eastern coastline (end of the runway), the intersection John Halley Road and Road to English Quarter and the bridge on the final leg of the Road to White Wall.
The plan of approach includes 4 main categories;
- Cleaning of the dumpsites; this is the task of ensuring that the areas are adequately cleaned of all waste and properly disposed;
- Securing and prevention; to ensure that the sites are adequately secured to prevent the reoccurrence of the waste compilation;
- The introduction of the BAVPOLERS (extra ordinary police) and environmental inspector; provision of the authorized personals for the control and sanctioning process and
- Information and education campaign; which is the development of an information, education and prevention trajectory, though workshops and public information sharing.
The overall objective of the project is among others; the removal and relocation of unwanted waste to the recycle plant for processing, reduction in the breeding ground for mosquitos, rats and other rodents, removal of eyesores, reduction in the amount of flying debris (plastic bags, Styrofoam, reduction in the chance of leaching of motor oil, reducing the probability of contaminating the ground water from leaching, preventing the reoccurrence of the illegal dumpsites and restarting a waste management and disposal information campaign. The projects is funded by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.
