Statia Waste Solution’s Khalil Houtman (second right) shaking hands with The Daily Herald’s correspondent Althea Merkman (right) after delivering the grey and orange waste-collection bins. Also in photo are two of his colleagues.
ST. EUSTATIUS–Statia Waste Solution (SWS) began distributing recycle bins on Saturday morning. The contractor in charge of the project, Khalil Houtman and his colleagues were hard at work delivering the bins. The first person to receive the bins was The Daily Herald’s correspondent Althea Merkman. The men delivered over 300 bins over the weekend and will continue their work throughout the coming days.
The collected glass will be crushed and placed into big bags. The cardboard, paper, plastic, tires and tin metals will be compacted and strapped.
These various waste streams will be exported. This will help generate a revenue to finance development plans and will also contribute to the operational expenses.
The dumpsite will also undergo the needed restructuring. There will be coordination at the dumpsite during opening hours. There will be separate holding areas for the different types of waste streams.
In order for persons to be able to deposit their waste at the dumpsite the waste must be received at the waste facility first. This means that persons will present their pre-sorted waste at the facility. It will then be weighed by the scale and registered in the system. A ticket and instructions will then be issued to visitors. The coordinator at the dumpsite will then instruct them further once the ticket is presented.
Bins will not be offered at residences that are still under construction. Bins will only be delivered to occupied residences.
The containers come in various colours, each representing a certain waste stream. The orange bin generally represents dry recyclables. The 770-litre bins are mainly used for businesses, events and special occasions. Due to the present limit in quantity, SWS will be issuing these bins primarily to businesses as these produce larger amounts of waste.
Some businesses have a green, blue or dark-grey bin in use at the moment. They will be using those bins despite their colour for non-recyclable waste and the orange bin for recyclables. This is until they are able to acquire various colours to represent more waste streams.
Apartment complex owners may also apply for a 770-litre bin via email atcontact@statiaws.com, if considered necessary.
Many persons on the island who purchased a 360-litre bin in the past were wondering if these could not be used for their garbage also. Even though it can be used as extra holding capacity of waste, SWS’s installation cannot lift these type of bins because of a structural difference. The bins, however, remain in the clients’ possession. Owners of such bins may continue to use them for garbage until everyone has received their recycling bins and the starting date of the new waste collection system has been officially announced.
Quite a few persons congratulated Government on achieving “this great milestone” on the island.
