by Kevon Browne
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): The Solid Waste Management Corporation (SWMC) is embarking on an islandwide cleanup in an active movement to keep the country clean and in an attempt to quell outcries about derelict vehicles in the community.
The initiative begins September to Mid-December, starting with derelict vehicles in Cayon and following the island route through the island’s east side.
What is a derelict vehicle?
“A motor vehicle that is abandoned or discarded is stored or kept in a public place in such a dilapidated condition that it cannot safely be used for the purpose of transportation or in its location detract from the quality of the amenities enjoyed by a person who owns property in or near where the vehicle is located, constitutes a nuisance in law or in otherwise a hazard to human health or the environment,” shared Ivanka James, Litter Warden with the SWMC.
Owners of those abandoned vehicles would have seven days after the SWMC marks the vehicle to either remove it or take what is needed. After seven days, it would be moved to the landfill.
Then as of October 2021, the SWMC will be placing communal bins throughout the island, free of charge, to facilitate residents in the cleanup of white goods in their communities.
“The white goods that we will be collecting [are] refrigerators, stoves, washing machines, toilets, Miami shutters, which we [call louvres]; the white louvres, AC, radios, etc.. etc.”
The clean-up initiative is the SWMC’s proactive approach to waste management and combat illegal dumping throughout the island.
To date, the SWMC has collected 625 derelict vehicles and 10 million lbs of metal from 2019 to the present, and the effort continues.
A schedule will be communicated to the public shortly about when bins will be placed in communities and what type of waste the bins are assigned.
