Consultant for waste management

The Daily Herald writes that Secretary of State for Infrastructure and Environment, Wilma Mansveld, has appointed an external consultant on the subject of waste management for St. Eustatius, Saba and Bonaire. The consultant, who will be based on Bonaire, started his appointment on November 1. The consultant will advise and assist the actual achievement of better waste management. Secretary of State Mansveld said that it is imperative to improve waste management in the Dutch Caribbean, particularly on Statia and Bonaire.

In a letter to the government, the Secretary of State outlines that there is hardly any separate waste collection or recycling, and most waste finds its way to land-fill. The current situation poses a risk to public health (including through the dumping of biomedical waste, offal and carcasses), nature (land-fill may end up in the ocean and cause coral damage), the environment (waste, water and soil pollution and emission of greenhouse gases) and the economy (coral degradation and illegal land-fill may lead to less tourism).