BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (August 14, 2015) -- A society’s affluence has a direct linkage to an increased generation of waste. A country like St. Kitts and Nevis, which is heavily dependent on tourism, has to ensure that the generated waste is collected routinely as failure to do it would deter the number of visitors wanting to make return visits.
There is no debate about it anymore -- St. Kitts and Nevis is rapidly becoming an affluent country, and so is the increase of the amount of garbage that is produced on a daily basis. How that waste is managed makes a determination as to whether the person who visited our shores last year will want to return this year.
It will also determine whether he would recommend the country as a holiday destination to his friends. In tourism circles, they call them satisfied return visitors who bring along their friends. That is what the economy of St. Kitts and Nevis needs.
This is by no means a way of saying that if there are no visitors coming to our shores that garbage should be left piling up all over the place. We have the duty to make our country clean, visitors or no visitors.
The Solid Waste Management Corporation (SWMC) St. Kitts is mandated by an act of parliament, Solid Waste Management Act of St. Christopher and Nevis No 11 of 2009 to broadly ensure that any generated garbage both from households or commercial sector is collected on a timely basis and deposited at the landfill at Conaree.
According to Mr Valentine Heyliger, Solid Waste Management Corporation’s Operations Officer, garbage collection from households on the island of St. Kitts is free. It is done routinely five days a week, and is collected by the organisation’s trucks or trucks owned by contracted service providers. They also work on holidays apart from New Year’s Day, Good Friday and Christmas Day.
“We have a collection schedule that covers all areas of the island,” explained Mr Heyliger. “The schedule is out there maybe nearly eight years now. Persons learn it over a period of time, because it is a regular service.”
For the process to succeed garbage is picked up at least one day each week in the different areas and persons are advised that garbage should only be brought out for collection on the day of its pick up and not before or after. Mr Heyliger advises household owners that this is enforced by law.
“According to the Solid Waste Act of 2009 - 11 Chapter 47 (1) (b), someone who deposits litter in a public place at any other time other than during the time prescribed for deposit of that litter is guilty of an offence under the Litter Abatement Act,” explained Mr Heyliger.
“That is for example if the garbage truck is scheduled to be in New Town Monday morning, and you bring out your garbage Tuesday or Wednesday or even Monday night, you are contravening the law.”
There are six shifts on a normal working day. The first shift is at 4:00 am and the rest are at 6:30 am, 8:00 am (two shifts), 10:00 am, and at 4:00 pm. Over 20,000 households in St. Kitts are covered by these schedules.
“Please ensure that you know the times when garbage is picked up in your area and bring it out about two hours before,” advised the Operations Officer. “If you do it long before or after, what is going to happen now is that you are going to leave the garbage there, and dogs are going to interfere with the garbage and scatter it.
“You are going to cause rodents, flies and the persons who go there to interfere with the garbage, they might see a half a drink in the garbage and go and interfere with it. That is not right. It also hurts the general cleanliness and the aesthetics of the place. People do not want to see their streets littered with garbage in this day and age.”
According to Mr Heyliger, if one is caught putting out garbage after the scheduled hours, they will be liable to a fine of $500 if they are ticketed by a litter warden. He advised the public that there are better ways of spending a hard-earned $500 than to have it go to pay a fine, and appealed to the general public to comply with the pick up times of the garbage, and with the laws of the country.
“We also advise them that after the truck has passed, to take up their bins,” added Mr Heyliger. “Do not leave them there all week. Some persons are in the habit of leaving their garbage bins on the sidewalks all week. A day shouldn’t pass.”
While garbage is collected from the different areas one day in the week, College Street is the only area that enjoys three pick up times in a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
“We have to look inward; we are looking about ourselves - yes we are a tourist country and we need to keep our country clean,” commented Mr Heyliger. “I am appealing to the general public, for most persons know the schedule of the trucks.
“If you are new in an area and you are not familiar with the schedule, ask your neighbours, call the Solid Waste offices or familiarise yourself with the schedule by simply visiting our website at www.stkittsswmc.com and you won’t go wrong. Help keep our island clean.”
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