Saba and Statia join forces in recycling

EJL Ser­vices, the managing com­pany of Statia Waste Solu­tions, will be offering tech­nical support to recyclers on Saba, said its owner Jeffrey Lewis. Statia Waste Solutions handles the gar­bage pickup and the waste management plant in St. Eustatius.

Lewis said they are work­ing on a cooperation in which he could assist Saba, whether it is in technical aspects or in providing ad­vice. He said he took the initia­tive in reaching out to Saba to see what is going on with their recycling efforts. Based on the information he gathered and seeing the technical challenges when it comes to machinery and others issues, he decided to make contact with Saba. Since Saba has been ac­tively recycling waste for a couple of years, he reached out to see what their chal­lenges are and if their find­ings are the same as his own. “There is expertise that I have that can aid them and vice versa, so that we can solve each other’s problems,” he said.

He met with Head of Sa­ba’s Department of Public Works and Sanitation Rus­sell Thielman and engaged in a dialogue about the cur­rent recycling system and how the public responds to it. Both islands are faced with the same challenges in relation to the recycling aspect.

While on Saba, Lewis visit­ed Saba’s waste plant, which was hit hard by last year’s hurricanes. Saba waste plant was damaged and be­cause of that the machines are vulnerable to rain. Also, they are exposed to salt air as the location is adjacent to Fort Bay Harbour.

Saba’s challenges with gar­bage trucks are the hills as the automatic systems work better on flat surfaces.

Saba’s incinerator was down and they acquired an open-air burner from abroad. The incinerator needed to be refurbished and they were planning to fly in some expensive tech­nicians from Bonaire, but since Lewis was present they utilized his services.

“Saba did not have the opportunity to get techni­cal help in a short period of time. They did not know the expertise was right here on Statia, so now they know they can reach out to me for advice or technical help,” Lewis said.

Where the ordering of parts is concerned, his counterparts on Saba also learned they can use Lewis’ contacts with suppliers in the Netherlands as he has direct contact with suppli­ers. “Where it would take Saba maybe two to three months to get an item, it takes me five days,” Lewis said. In urgent cases, he can order the part, send it to Saba and they can have the item within a week or so.

“One of the things Saba does not have is space,” said Lewis. “I have the option to expand, if need be, or cre­ate an extra holding space. They don’t really have that luxury because they do not have that landscape.”

Thielman, Lewis said, was very happy that he had reached out. “I was wel­comed, warmly embraced and my effort was greatly appreciated on Saba,” Lewis said. He gave some tips and advice about the glass pressuring and other machinery, as well as some do’s and don’ts.

“Working together, Saba and Statia can have a lot of advantages to the fact that we are both busy with im­proving our environments to the benefit of both is­lands,” said Lewis.

He said the results of his visit were very promising. “We will be working to­gether in the near future and EJL Services will be assisting them with their machinery and processes. This initiative was based on both parties having enough experience and informa­tion based on how to move forward and improve the implementation of recy­cling on both islands. Two trucks are scheduled to ar­rive on Statia from Saba for repair.”

The Daily Herald.