A truck transports a car wreck from the French side to the Dutch side collection area on Pond Island.
POND ISLAND--Environment Minister Miklos Giterson has called on “unknown” garbage hauler to cease dumping garbage collected on the French side on the already overburdened Dutch side dump.
The minister issued a call in the Council of Ministers Press Briefing on Wednesday for haulers to put the “permanent termination” of this “unfavourable practice.”
Upon learning about the influx of trucks with garbage from the French side, Giterson said an immediate investigation was launched and security personnel were stationed at the border points “to register” the licence plates of trucks fill with garbage. The trucks hauling the garbage are said to have both Dutch and French plates.
The “uncalculated influx” of garbage from the French side poses more risks and issues for the management of the problematic dump, he said.
The Dutch side has been struggling with its waste management woes for more than two decades. The dump, resembling a mountain in the middle of the historical Great Salt Pond, constantly catches afire, choking residents with thick black smoke.
The worst flare up to date was in late January/early February when plume of black smoke blanketed surrounding areas, including the Dutch side capital of Philipsburg, forcing schools and businesses to close and resident to be evacuated from their homes.
The French side has its own landfill that is located far away from its populated areas.
