fbpx
Published On: Fri, May 4th, 2018

American consultants to evaluate landfill-management

St. Maarten landfill dump on fire smoking

PHILIPSBURG – Incineration of garbage, the production of electricity from waste and mining the existing landfill are part of the options Minister Miklos Giterson listed for the improvement of landfill-management during Thursday’s central committee meeting about the 2018 budget. But the minister did not say a word about the waste-to-energy facility his predecessor Christophe Emmanuel presented in December of last year.

Minister Giterson referred in his address to the Central Committee to a SOAB-report about the management of the landfill. That report found shortcomings in the terms of reference. Those terms are now under consideration and a new version should be in place by the time the current contract with Robelto and Sons expires at the end of the year.

“For eight years, the contract for the landfill-management was 2.3 million guilders. It is now 2.8 million and that is still insufficient,” the minister said.

EE&G, a Miami-based environmental and remediation consultant company has been brought in by the World Bank to evaluate the situation at the landfill. The consultants will come to St. Maarten next week, the minister said. for the current waste-situation, the landfill needs shredders for steel, wood, greenery and construction debris.

VROMI-minister Miklos GitersonMinister Giterson emphasized the need to get going with recycling. The urgent improvement of landfill-management requires better security and additional landfill, the minister said. Giterson wants to intensify the removal of debris, including shipwrecks and he wants to make work of cleaning up the Irma landfill.

Furthermore, his ministry wants to establish a waste authority that will become responsible for the comprehensive management of garbage on the island.

Giterson also said that the government will introduce a fee for garbage-disposal.