Nov. 10, 2002 – The odds of those who violate anti-litter and solid waste dumping laws getting away with it on St. Croix are a lot less these days than they used to be.
Public Works Department anti-litter enforcement officers are patrolling the roads in unmarked vehicles on the lookout for violators. When they find them, they issue warnings or citations. They're averaging six citations a week at the moment, costing the recipients fines of $100 to $1,000.
The program to crack down on those responsible for littering and illegal dumping is now in its second year, newly bolstered by a $189,000 grant from the Anti-Litter and Beautification Commission.
The funds are enabling enforcement officers to conduct stakeouts between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. at trash bin sites and areas where littering is heaviest, according to Robert Moorehead, assistant Public Works commissioner for St. Croix. "What we want to do is have more visibility," he said in a release.
But those who think they can get away with illegal dumping and littering later at night have another think coming. John Green, Public Works senior solid waste coordinator, says some stakeouts have been in place as late as midnight.
Moorehead says he thinks citations are making a difference but that the most effective deterrent to littering and illegal dumping is education. "There are certain areas on St. Croix we know are highly littered — the Melvin Evans Highway, Constitution Hill and Contentment," he said. "As fast as we go out and clean, the next morning those places are dirty."
Another way the enforcement officers are seeking to increase their visibility, Green said in the release, is by walking the streets of Christiansted and Frederiksted. They're also going into neighborhoods handing out pamphlets and asking residents who have house-to-house collection to set their trash out in covered bins instead of plastic bags, which invite vermin.
Green says litter enforcement officers also work with the St. Croix Anti-Litter and Beautification Committee by researching property records to find out who owns derelict lots and then asking Fire Service authorities to determine whether those lots present fire hazards. According to the V.I. Code, property owners are responsible for keeping their lots clean. Moorehead says litter enforcement officers have cited the code to a number of property owners already.
Public Works enforcement officers and sanitation inspectors also are enforcing solid and hazardous waste laws by conducting random inspections of incoming trash at the Anguilla landfill and making note of abandoned vehicles and illegal dump sites, the release states.
For more information about the enforcement program, call Green 773-1290, ext. 2218, or Stella Saunders at 773-1290, ext. 2224. "Keeping our island clean is not just the government's responsibility," the release states. "It is everyone's responsibility."
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