78 August 2016 - Business View Caribbean
Waste Management (Amendment) Act #10 of 2007.
The legislation provided for the SLSWMA to: “manage
waste in conformity with best environmental practices
and to provide for matters incidental thereto.”
BVM:
What is the main job of the SLSWMA?
Auguste:
The SLSWMA arranges for the collection
of municipal waste generated by homes and govern-
ment-related institutions, and does so through PPPs
– Private/Public Partnerships. Rather than owning our
own collection equipment, we contract waste haul-
ers with the necessary equipment around the island.
We’re divided into 11 waste collection zones. We cur-
rently employ six waste collection contractors, who
may each have more than one zone (up to a maximum
of three, provided that they have the capacity to man-
age the operations for the zones). They are contracted
for a five year period, under the terms and conditions
established to maintain an appropriate standard of
performance that include punitive repercussions for
non-compliance or non-performance. The legislation
requires that commercial and industrial entities hire
their own waste haulers to get their waste to the land-
fill.
The SLSWMA provides a collection service to the entire
population of Saint Lucia, by way of at least a twice-
weekly collection service. The landfills operate from
seven o’clock in the morning to six o’clock in the eve-
ning on a daily basis except for Sundays when they op-
erate from seven o’clock to twelve-thirty; they remain
closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Where
suitable road infrastructure permits, curbside collec-
tion is undertaken. In cases where there is limited ac-
cess, communal bins are utilized to consolidate collec-
tion. This method is prevalent where there are sporadic
and unplanned developments. A sustained education
and public awareness campaign, with methodologies
