Based on an island survey that was recently conducted, it has been not­ed that several car wrecks and instances of metal waste are present on Saba, posing a serious hazard to the community in numer­ous ways. Due to this, the public entity Saba will be­gin a Car Wreck and Metal Waste Removal Project.

Removing car wrecks and scrap metals from the island will greatly benefit Saba in many ways. For example, the removal will assist in reducing the risk of dengue, as it eliminates mosquito-breeding sites. It will also lower the possibil­ity of dangerous materials becoming airborne during strong winds. Additionally, removing these wrecks and metal piles will boost the island’s safety by ensuring emergency service vehicles can respond more swift­ly, specifically to private homes, ultimately leading to the enhanced well-being of the community. Overall, these actions will enhance public health and safety across the island.

In conjunction with this initiative, the public entity recognises the unique op­portunity presented by the availability of a metal baler on the island. This equip­ment is crucial for efficient­ly processing metal waste, including car wrecks. Previ­ously, the removal of metal and car wrecks from Saba was done using a barge and was met with significant challenges due to limited manpower, resources and the time-intensive nature of preparing vehicles. With this current opportunity, Saba’s Waste Manage­ment employees will re­ceive training in processing cars for baling, resulting in more efficient metal stor­age at the waste facility.

The government views the current availability of the baler as an advantage, enabling it to not only as­sist the community in main­taining the island’s cleanli­ness but also address the backlog of metal waste.

By maximising the use of this equipment, the public entity aims to improve the management of waste with­in its own facilities, dem­onstrating commitment to environmental responsibil­ity and the efficient use of resources.

Free removal of car wrecks

Due to the numerous ben­efits of removing the car wrecks, the government will be offering free removal of car wrecks at no cost to residents (with the consent of the owner) for one time only. If the owner of a car wreck opts to not have the car removed by the public entity, the owner may be fined or have the car re­moved at his/her expense if it is deemed a hazard to either public health or the environment, and has neither been repaired nor taken to the Waste Man­agement Facility within a certain time frame.

“We are urging all resi­dents to come together as a community and take ad­vantage of this opportunity to remove these car wrecks and metal waste, as a dem­onstration of our collective commitment to a cleaner and safer environment for everyone,” said Commis­sioner Bruce Zagers.

Residents can visit the fol­lowing link to submit a re­quest for removal:

https://www.sabagov.nl/ residents/waste-manage­ment-recycling/car-wreck­removal.

The Daily Herald.