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November
17, 1997 - The St. Lucia Solid Waste Management Authority is responsible for coordinating and
integrating systems for the collection, treatment and disposal of the island's solid
waste.
The Authority and the Ministry of Planning are currently developing a National Solid Waste
Disposal strategy plan for St. Lucia. One component is the establishment of
environmentally friendly disposal facilities.
The OECS Solid Waste Management Project is presently devising and implementing a regional
Solid Waste Management Plan, which is aimed at addressing a mounting waste disposal
problem. The plan involves a number of recycling initiatives and construction of sanitary
landfills.
The possibility of establishing two sanitary landfills is currently being investigated.
Two potential sites have already been identified in Cul De Sac and Vieux Fort. The St.
Lucia Solid Waste Management Authority recently concluded public meetings with landowners,
residents and other interested parties in both areas, to present an outline of the
proposed project and to document concerns which the stakeholders may have if the
developments were to proceed.
The traditional method of disposing solid waste material has been open dumping and
burning. However this has raised a number of environmental and social concerns, and has
necessitated that alternative methods be adopted.
It is already evident that the project may cost more than earlier anticipated. However
there is strong commitment on the part of government and the funding agencies in ensuring
the successful completion of the project.
The OECS Solid Waste Management Project is to be undertaken by six OECS countries - St.
Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and
the Grenadines. The project consists of a national component and a regional component.
Both major components can be said to effect the following:
Improve the coverage and effectiveness of domestic solid waste collection and disposal
facilities;
Reduce pollution of territorial waters;
Improve the collection, treatment and disposal of ship-generated solid wastes;
Assist the beneficiary countries in establishing appropriate legal and institutional
frameworks to enable effective management and disposal of solid waste;
Assist in the preparation of plans and programs to address the problems of collection,
treatment and disposal of liquid waste;
And to identify regional opportunities for reduction, recovery and recycling of solid
waste.
Meanwhile, St. Lucia together with Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and
Nevis and St. Vincent will soon implement an Environmental Levy to all visitors to these
Islands.
As of December 1, 1997 each tourist who steps off an aircraft or a ship to spend some time
on land will be asked to make a contribution of Us $1.50 towards garbage disposal.
The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) which represents the majority of the
cruise ships which berth in the Caribbean has objected to the imposition of the Levy on
its passengers.
Last year just under 1.1 million tourists visited the six Islands on cruise ships while
727,500 were stay over visitors generating more than 10 million kilograms of garbage. The
levy, which is expected to net US$2.6 million per year is not enough to effectively deal
the huge cost of waste disposal. A number of cost recovery measures will also be
introduced to help fund the cost of new disposal facilities for municipal and ship borne
solid waste.
The initiative for the Environmental Levy has come out of the recognition that waters
around the Caribbean were heavily polluted with waste, some of it believed to have been
dumped by ships at sea, it has been noted though that a lot of land generated waste also
gets washed out to sea.
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