The Department of Waste Management is set to relaunch its house-to-house garbage collection programme for a four-month pilot period starting from June 3 until September 30.
This initiative, aimed at improving waste management strategies, will service selected areas in Tortola, Virgin Gorda, and Jost Van Dyke.
Director of the Department of Waste Management Marcus Solomon announced the programme, highlighting its potential impact on future waste collection methods.
“The information that we will be collecting through this pilot programme will help to inform garbage collection strategies for the next three to four years,” Solomon stated. He emphasized the goal of reducing reliance on public bins, which are often considered unsightly and pose public health concerns.
Residents in the pilot communities are encouraged to participate by placing their garbage in trash bins and setting them outside for collection on the scheduled days and times. To ensure full participation, Solomon noted that every community dumpster on Tortola has been labelled and those in the pilot areas will be removed.
“We have also labelled every community dumpster on Tortola and the dumpsters in the pilot area will be removed because we want full participation,” Solomon explained.
The success and possible expansion of the programme will depend on the data and feedback collected during this pilot phase. Solomon recalled the positive feedback received when a similar programme was attempted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We tried it during COVID-19 and we had some positive feedback. We want to see if this type of collection programme can be sustainable,” he said.
Solomon urged the pilot communities to fully engage with the initiative as part of the ongoing efforts to achieve a cleaner and greener British Virgin Islands.
“We are asking the pilot communities for their full participation as we continue to progress towards a cleaner, greener BVI,” he stated.
The collection will be done in the following communities:
