St. Maarten is working on sustainable solid waste management, announced Governor Ajama Baly on behalf of the caretaker Merclina I Cabinet during Tuesday’s opening of a new parliamentary year (see Wednesday newspaper). This involves establishing a Waste Authority that will also set tariffs and fees, with a 2025-2027 budget and scenario analysis model to determine its revenue needs in 2028 and beyond.
To be sure, household garbage and processing is now free, in the sense that government pays haulers to pick it up for deposit at the landfill. The idea is to procure this job from 2026 onwards with a focus on improving collection and preventing illegal dumping. Exactly what that will entail remains to be seen, but better trash separation and more recycling are obviously part of the plans.
Meanwhile, the National Recovery Programme Bureau (NRPB), using means from the Dutch-sponsored post-Hurricane Irma Trust Fund administered by the World Bank, has been tacking waste management particularly at the close-to-saturated landfill. Although progress was recently reported on the necessary relocation of residents and businesses near the dump, the public unfortunately also learned in Monday’s edition that a compactor bought three years ago and valued at US $740,000 along with an accompanying bulldozer are no longer working due to lack of maintenance, for which a service level agreement (SLA) was apparently never signed.
Keep in mind that if the intention is to centralise both garbage collection and its processing, many current contractors and their employees may end up losing their livelihood, despite investments in equipment. The same goes for a future possible public transportation company and present bus licence-holders/operators.
This is an aspect that must be carefully considered, because of significant potential negative socioeconomic consequences. It requires balanced decision-making.
