Oranjestad- The Government of St. Eustatius has made a start with the cleaning up of 3 illegal dump sites on the island.

The work is being carried out by the Directorate of Economy & Infrastructure (Public Works) with the help of Statia Waste Solutions. The cleaning up of the illegal dump sites is part of a plan consisting of 4 steps.

The first step is the actual cleaning up of the illegal dump sites and ensuring that all waste is correctly processed and disposed of.

The second step is securing and prevention, in order to avoid that new wast will be once again dumped in the illegal sites.

The third step includes patrols by extra ordinary police officers (Bavpol) as well as the deployment of an environmental officer.

The fourth and final step is the setting up of a public information and awareness campaign, to achieve a change in attitude when it comes to ways of disposing waste on the island.

Health implications

According to Government Commissioner Mike Franco, the issue of the illegal waste sites is bigger than the environment alone. “The illegal dumping also has serious health implications”, said Franco.

The hope is that by eliminating the illegal dump sites, mosquito breeding grounds are taking away and a reduction in rats and other rodents will be achieved.