Business people and residents of Marigot are up in arms over indiscriminate garbage dumping near an old jetty in their community.
‘Disgusting” was the way one business owner described the situation.
“On the other side of the bay, there is no garbage collection because there is no vehicle access. So they carry it all in a boat and put it on the water’s edge. At high tide it sways back and forth. It stays there for about a week in the hot sun. It smells. It collects maggots and attracts rats,” the business owner told St. Lucia Times.
“The yacht people see the garbage pile up and drop theirs there. The boat boys take garbage from the different boats and charge them to dispose of it and throw it in that area as well,” the business owner lamented.
According to reports, the situation has been ongoing for months despite appeals to the authorities to take action.
The business owner pays a private concern $300 per load twice a week to dispose of garbage the business generates.
In addition, private residents have access to scheduled garbage collection.
However, the business owner observed that vendors and others who grill chicken and cook on the beach have nowhere to dispose of their garbage and might leave it at the location.
Businessman Gerard Felix, known as JJ, has also expressed concern, although he is not directly affected by the garbage problem because of the location of his hotel, restaurant, and bar.
Felix observed that garbage is the first thing day charters, yachts, and boats see when entering the bay.
He recalled paying for garbage removal earlier this year.
“Sometimes, when you are a businessman in the area, you have to help. So I paid a truck to do a couple of trips, but I can’t continue doing it every day,” Felix told St. Lucia Times.
He felt it would be easy for the authorities to identify those responsible for the indiscriminate garbage disposal because the perpetrators are brazen.
“They’re big and bold,” Felix stated.
He, too, revealed that the authorities were aware of the problem since the people directly affected have complained.
