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Master Plan for Garbage Collection will be environmentally Friendly--- Dumpsite Lifespan almost over—Heyliger

Philipsburg Dumpsite

Philipsburg: - The new master plan for garbage collection ROB Commissioner Theodore Heyliger said has to be environmentally friendly. “One has to know that the lifespan for the dumpsite that is sitting in the middle of town is nearing its end. “There is no more space left for the disposal of garbage and most of all the island government only have until December 2008 to use that site” Heyliger told SMN News..

“One has to look at what the island has been going through over the years with a dumpsite in the middle of town and the solution that is to be found has to be safe for the people living here.” He said

Commissioner Theodore Heyliger

Heyliger said that no one should worry to about the fact French side trucks are picking up garbage temporarily. “St. Maarten is facing a serious situation, environmentally and there needs to be a real solution to this problem and not just grant contracts to people who do not even buy real garbage trucks.” He explained.
Garbage can be either burnt or composted, the latter is what the commissioner is focusing on heavily.

The commissioner who just over three weeks ago took over Public Works said that he is trying to privatized garbage collection with a company that can also process the waste material. “I am not looking into just picking up garbage, but also processing and disposing of the waste material, since there is no more space left on the island to dispose garbage” Heyliger said.

With the bids that were submitted last year ranges between 15 to 20 million guilders per year, which is like ten percent of government budget, and this is only for the picking up of garbage, no one talked about the disposal or probably processing of the garbage, this is not acceptable Heyliger said. “Having smaller trucks go on the hillsides or to every home will not solve the problem, what about the disposal he asked? In addition, what would the island government do when the life of the dumpsite expires?

The island government he said only has in its budget 3.5 million guilders for garbage collection. “That budget has already exhausted for this year and by December 2007 the island government would spend close to 4.2 million guilders on just picking up of garbage,” he further explained. “To take care of the dumpsite would cost government another two million guilders which in the long run will cost the island government much more monies”. The commissioner explained that is the reason a long-term solution is needed and that is by privatizing garbage collection and processing, similar to that which is now functioning in Curacao for one fee.

When asked about the much talked about garbage collection fee the commissioner who only three weeks ago took over Public works said that the cost of collecting and processing garbage is very high and the island government cannot shoulder the expenses alone. However, though he said that whatever fees government decides to implement would be fairly calculated. People he said will not be overcharged and everybody would be contributing and not part of the community.

Heyliger said that one has to choose if they want to live in an environment that are hazardous or they contribute to a safer zone. How soon this fee would be implemented, the commissioner said that a definite solution has to be found by December 2007 and that can mean implementation can begin on January 1 2008.

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