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Several people including small haulers have been caught dumping illegally at local bins because of surveillance cameras that were recently installed to monitor certain locations as part of measures to identify those who are engaging in the act.
Roger Merritt, executive director of the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority made the disclosure during a town meeting on Wednesday. The objective of that meeting was to explain the justification behind the implementation of new tipping fees that will go into effect as of January 2022.
“We have actually set up cameras at our bin sites. This happened about a month ago and we have actually caught some people illegally dumping. We are going to have some discussions shortly to discuss fines from what we are seeing on the cameras,” he said. Currently, illegal disposal is a criminal offense that carries a maximum fine of $1000 and or imprisonment.
He told the meeting that under the new tipping fee structure, there will be a category for people or small companies that don’t have an account with the authority. The new structure was created as part of the authority’s efforts to stop the illegal dumping of private waste in local bins.
“They technically should fall under pay-as-you-go, so we are also looking at identifying those who are doing that," Mr. Merritt said. "We have an idea of the small haulers who come in, so they will now understand the process going forward."
An attendee of the meeting stated, "This initiative is very important for the private guys."
Illegal dumping is an act that sees haulers, whether small or big, disposing of large amounts of garbage at bin sites that should instead be disposed at the territory's landfills. With landfill disposal, however, there are fees and accounts must be created.
It was revealed that a lot of the illegal dumpers are businesses. However, under the rules of the authority, private haulers should be taking care of their trash in a regulated or permitted truck.
Besides, as part of the tipping fees which will take effect on January 10, 2022, the Waste Management Authority will be building five convenience centers for the disposal of trash in the coming months.
“We are going into 2022 with a plan to build convenience centers. We got grant money to build five convenience centers throughout the territory. Ultimately, we want to transit from the unmanned bin sites to these convenience centers,” Mr. Merritt said. Convenience centers are manned facilities with operating hours for the disposal of solid waste and other waste items.
The meeting was used to update the public about the ongoing development of the authority’s integrated management plan. Mr. Merritt said that currently, the authority is working with a consultant to finalize the integrated management plan which is expected to happen in 2022.
“We have been working on that plan… the plan will come out next year,” he promised
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