The photo of trash left at Jose Lake Cooper Ballfield on L.B. Scott Road in Tuesday’s edition was a discouraging sight.
One would have hoped people knew better by now. Then again, the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI announced a week earlier that the Philipsburg landfill was only accepting household garbage on Sundays from December 22. This is to “streamline operations,” according to a press release published on Wednesday, December 18.
However, residents traditionally clean their homes at the end of the year. Many were apparently caught off-guard when told they could not deposit bulky waste at the dump as usual on the last Sunday before the holidays. That is obviously no excuse to simply deposit such on the parking of a sports facility.
It does, nevertheless, raise questions about the timing of this move by government and informing the public well ahead so they can adjust their plans. On Wednesday evening Port St. Maarten Group (PSG) subsidiary Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority announced a pilot project (see related story) to reduce road traffic congestion in the area.
It involved new opening hours for both the Simpson Bay and Causeway bridges starting the very next afternoon, on Boxing Day. That gave little forewarning, especially during Christmas when there are no newspapers and regular bulletins on local radio. In this case the St.
Maarten Marine Trades Association (SMMTA) and the St. Maarten Police Force KPSM, including I.