After Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Patrice Gumbs recently announced the introduction of a flat fee to access the landfill, Member of Parliament (MP) Omar Ottley expressed concern (see Friday/Saturday edition). His fear that doing so without any accompanying programmes or – for example, recycling – incentives will only keep people from using the official channel for waste disposal is not unjustified.
When the disposal of construction debris and bulky waste on Sundays was stopped just before Christmas, the parking lot of Jose Lake Cooper Ballpark turned into an illegal dump. This even forced government to close it with chains when unoccupied.
Curaçao was prompted to do the exact opposite of what is happening in St. Maarten. Its Malpais landfill has been made free of charge since late last year as part of an effort to clean the island up also in the interest of tourism.
To be fair, Minister Gumbs had mentioned a “tipping fee” since early December and the plan goes back to the former Jacobs II Cabinet. It would be based on weight, but for now a fixed fee has apparently been chosen instead to transition towards the “more transparent and equitable” system later. Certainly the amount of 10 Caribbean guilders per vehicle should be no major deterrent.
“Everyone must play a role,” reads the slogan of an “entrance fees coming soon” sign unveiled near the facility on Pond Island at the end of March. That makes sense, but active enforcement of anti-littering laws, education and promoting awareness remain paramount to achieve the widespread change of mentality that is really needed.
