Dear Editor,
The current state of St. Maarten’s sanitary landfill, also commonly referred to as “the dump,” is an undeniable problem. Recent years have seen an increase in the amount of garbage being brought to be dumped at the landfill as a result of an increase in garbage generation. This, coupled with worrisome management practices, has led to an alarming 32 (and counting) fires on the landfill this year alone. This predicament certainly has my full attention.
Brief history
While the fact that for years fires have been smouldering under the landfill is nothing new, the frequency in which these fires have erupted on the surface has steadily increased. The landfill, which was established in the early 1970s, has long since passed its lifespan, however, it continues to be the only option available for the dumping of the country’s garbage. This, in addition to St. Maarten’s larger waste problem has been a controversial topic for the past few years, especially as increasingly large fires seem to rage out of control.
As mentioned, the landfill has been smouldering underground for a number of years. Occasionally, a surface fire flares up, which spreads to areas nearby and this becomes hard to control as once it spreads it ignites other garbage. Other sources of these fires include garbage rummagers who gather and burn wires at the landfill that quickly spread out of control, the illegal dumping of garbage and debris from the French side of the island and lastly, suspected criminal activities contributing to the starting of fires.
Current challenges
Concerns about the management of the landfill and the potential for an increase of fires have been raised for some time. These concerns centred around what was considered a poorly constructed Terms of References (TOR) used in the bidding process to select a contractor and the poor performance of that contractor in living up to the TOR. At the request of the then VROMI Minister in 2016, the Government’s Accountants Bureau SOAB compiled an audit report of the management of the dumpsite and the quality of the TOR. An analysis of the TOR by SOAB revealed several weaknesses in both instances.
Given the continued poor performance of the contractor, I proposed earlier this year to “amicably terminate” the contract of the landfill management due to the inability of the company to responsibly handle the dump. However, after discovering that the penalty for dissolving the contract would cost more than the remainder of the contract, in addition to having to pay another contractor to actually carry out the works, it was decided to let the contract run out until it expires in December 2018.
Moving forward
I have identified several objectives that I am steadfast about achieving in my commitment to end St. Maarten’s waste problem: the total extinguishing of the underground fires, the structural improvement of the management of the dump, the establishment of a waste authority, and the introduction of a recycling programme. The development of a waste incinerator to significantly reduce the amount of garbage to be disposed of remains an option to be considered. However, this does not take away from the more immediate structural measures needed.
The goal is to suppress the current fires while working in parallel to put in place a sustainable waste solution. Given the constant smouldering of the underground fires and the inevitability of fires continuing, the best strategic solution is to first fully extinguish the underground fires, which would greatly lower the number and intensity of flare-ups.
To this end, the government, with financing from the Recovery Trust Fund, has identified a project that will be a large-scale operation to suppress the ongoing fires at both dumpsites. The proposed solution is to go section by section and extinguish these fires using heavy equipment and special fire suppression chemicals and techniques. Disappointingly, the fire suppression works have unfortunately taken longer to begin than initially anticipated. The Council of Ministers has been advised that social and environmental protections need to be strongly considered by the government before any work can begin. Though time-consuming, proper precautions have to be taken to ensure that all of the right components are included and that the right contractor is being selected that can fully handle the job.
A 6:00pm closing time of the landfill has been instituted to restrict the number of persons on the landfill at night, when a majority of the fires seem to start. Temporary security services have been set up to patrol both landfills as well as the VROMI yard, and a tender has been issued for the procurement of permanent security. Additionally, the Ministry is in final negotiations to put in place a garbage-sorting and -recycling station in the near vicinity of the dump where an effort will be made to properly sort the trash that ends up on the landfill.
The VROMI Ministry sees the establishment of a waste authority as a high priority necessity. To that end, a project manager has been contracted by the Ministry to set up the framework of such an authority. It is through this authority that St. Maarten’s waste-to-energy plans will be executed. Also, imperative will be the introduction of a formal recycling programme by the government as well as a partnership with community organisations that have already begun the process. This will go hand in hand with community awareness and school programmes on the importance of recycling.
During my first press briefing on January 17, 2018, I indicated that my number one priority in office was to find a solution to the problem of the continuous fire. With 8 ministers in the past 8 years and an ever-constantly changing vision, I acknowledge that over the years there have been numerous delays that have led to the unacceptable situation at the dump today. There are a number of identified approaches to the problem but each will take time to properly prepare. In the meantime, with the measures taken (closing of the dump at 6:00pm and hiring of permanent security), it is my intention that the nuisance surface fires will be better contained until the structural suppression of the fires can take place before the year’s end.
Miklos Giterson,
Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI
