Statia further improves waste management - Ban single-use plastic and install new incinerator
The Public Entity of St. Eustatius is continuously introducing new ways to further improve waste management with the objective to eventually grow into a ‘green’ island.
One of the main projects supporting this objective is to ban single-use plastic starting January 1st , 2021. The single-use plastic ban will contribute to the environment and sustainability of Statia and will reduce the use of plastics and the amount of trash. Also, the new incinerator based on modern incineration technology is expected to become operational at the end of 2021.
The Directorate of Infrastructure, Statia Waste Solution, St. Eustatius National Parks and other stake holders are collaborating on the plan of a approach for the single-use plastic ban than goes into effect at the start of the new year 2021. This is at the same time when the BES Law Ban on Single-use Plastic goes into effect.
New incinerator
An incinerator is an apparatus for burning waste material at high temperatures until it is reduced to ash. The incinerator currently used to burn all the islands waste was designed to burn contaminated medical waste. This current unit is incapable of handling the volume of waste produced on the island and is not up to standards considering the modern technology that is required. The new unit is needed to be able to reach Statia’s objective to avoid the dumping of waste and consequently improve health and living conditions on Statia.
More efficient
The new machine is more efficient and is fully tailored to the requirements of Statia. It is able to incinerate a higher volume of waste than the current machine. This new machine has the capacity to burn ± 500 kg of waste per hour. The choice of this specific incinerator was extensively reviewed by engineers, and by the directorate of Economy, Nature and Infrastructure. It forms the basis of modern incineration technology extra processes can be built into it. The new incinerator will be placed at the waste plant, next to the building with the old incinerator. The old unit will be kept to burn medical waste. EJL Services BV is the key partner of the Public Entity when it comes to waste management and is the provider of the new unit.
End of 2021
The new unit is expected to be operational at the end of next year, 2021. The operations of the unit will be dependent on the volume of waste to be processed on a weekly basis. Government Commissioner, Marnix van Rij is convinced that the new machine is a very good investment. “The purchase of the new unit is a fundamental step in realizing Statia’s ambitions in modernizing waste management, and an investment that will serve the island of St. Eustatius for the coming ten years”.