Government

Waste Management Slams Illegal Dumping as “Community Problem,” Calls for Public Shaming of Offenders

Illegal dumping is a “serious, serious problem,” stated to Derek Gabriel, chair of the board governing the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority. During Tuesday's board meeting on the agency's budget for fiscal year 2026, Mr. Gabriel advocated for stronger action to be taken against perpetrators. “I am one of those people that believes in posting the people that are doing the illegal dumping when we catch them,” he declared. To illustrate the severity of the situation, Mr. Gabriel, commissioner of the Department of Public Works, recounted conducting a site visit at a particular location along with the St. Croix administrator and officials from the Department of Planning and Natural Resources. “People are dumping as we're securing a site,” he recalled. “Ladies and gentlemen, I have no problem in saying that is a community problem. That is not a government problem,” he argued. He noted that all residents ultimately pay the price for illegal dumping. “This is why we're having discu...