St. Maarten Private Eye

The dump just happens to be on fire again, lots and lots of smoke, those poor folks by Zagersgut and up past Grand Marche are in a cloud of it. At about 3pm the firedepartment was there with their hoses, but passing along the pond fill road at 6.45 there was no sign of them. Still burning well though.

How do we fix this problem? What are the solutions?

In regards to the dump, there needs to be a comprehensive management plan to deal with all sorts of wastes. A friend of mine has a problem with a bunch of old chemicals and paint tins he wants to throw out. What must he do with them? An incinerator which would also generate energy is an interesting idea that needs more investigation.

For garbage I have a couple of ideas I'd like to throw into the ring, the first of which is an outright ban on the flimsy plastic bags used in supermarkets, in fact they are used everywhere.

The impose an "environment tax" on all imported products, bottles, plastic containers and packaging materials. This tax gets spent of finding and putting in place solutions and restoring and protecting the environment of the island. The money goes to the department, not to the govt coffers to pay for other things.

Put in place a government owned glass recycling plant like on the french side and use the materials for our roads or in construction. Finding ways to recyle and reuse what we can of our waste is in my view vital and goes right along side finding ways to reduce it.

I'm sure some of you have some more ideas, and perhaps a few thoughts on my own, we would love to hear them.

Flipper