ST. CROIX — Plans to make immediate costly repairs to the crumbling concrete ramp at the closed Mon Bijou bin site have been scrapped as the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority has shifted its focus toward completing a long-term project to convert the site into a modern convenience center, according to WMA officials.
WMA took a precautionary measure when it closed the bin site for structural upgrades five months ago due to safety concerns because the concrete ramp was starting to fail.
“The ramp at Mon Bijou was being undermined tremendously, so it was a huge risk to the public to drive a car up there,” Alex Bruney, WMA territorial engineering manager, said. “At some point they may have fell in, which could have caused injuries. So, safety always comes first when it comes to any aspect of the Authority. The best thing we could have done was to shut it down until we could make those improvements.”
READ MORE: “Mon Bijou bin site temporarily closed for repairs to address safety concerns”
WMA installed a perimeter fence to secure the site and remove the presence of its enforcement officers, but the site still has bins filled with garbage and debris even though it has been closed since July 15.
The Authority has requested the contractor who managed the site, Marco St. Croix, to remove its excavator along with the remaining trash bins.
“We’ve asked them repeatedly to move those things out of the bin site, so we’re actively working with them to move those bins and also to move that big, heavy equipment,” Daryl Griffith, WMA interim executive director and chief financial officer, said. “I sent communication in writing to move those things out so that as soon as we get the go-ahead from the CDBG – DR funds, we can start construction right away.”
The Waste Management Authority had to consider how financially prudent it would have been to make repairs at the bin site since it was already slated to receive federal funds to turn the site into a staffed convenience center.
Converting the bin site into a convenience center will provide a more secure and efficient waste disposal option for residents as it will be equipped with compactors to reduce waste and multiple bins for source separation like the one in Estate Peter’s Rest on St. Croix and Estate Mandahl on St. Thomas. It will also eliminate illegal dumping at the bin site by businesses who drop off old tires, cardboard boxes, and used cooking oil.
Bin sites are equipped with surveillance cameras that read license plate numbers to prevent illegal dumping, which adds to the workload for WMA staff and its contractors who must then clean up the areas and creates unattractive clutter that can become a breeding ground for rodents.
Senator Donna Frett-Gregory questioned Griffith about a bin site on Hospital Line Road on St. Thomas when the Authority appeared before her Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance on October 7. Griffith acknowledged when he saw the bin site the previous week it was “overflowing.” Frett-Gregory said the site was so bad a nearby resident told her she could not even open her window.
“The rats; it’s very bad,” Frett-Gregory said, adding that beds and white goods were dumped at the site.
Frett-Gregory noted another St. Thomas bin site on Brookman Road was “unsightly,” adding that she did not even want to put her foot on the ground.
Bruney stressed the importance of WMA enforcement officers issuing citations to deter residents from illegal dumping, as well as residents properly disposing items. He said WMA could clean up a bin site one day, but by the next morning it would be littered with items.
“When it comes to solid waste disposal, I would love to get to the point where we eliminate all those unsightly bins because a lot of times it gets overwhelmed with folks dropping refrigerators and mattresses and furniture at those smaller bin sites,” Bruney said, stressing that residents must have pride. “In the same manner in which you brought your new refrigerator to your house, dispose of it the same way. Put in in the back of a truck and carry it to the proper location, which is the landfill, not at the bin site, not along the side of the road, not in the bush, but in the landfill.”
Griffith said WMA will also convert the bin sites in Concordia and Cotton Valley into convenience centers using federal funds through the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery program. He said all three facilities are under one contract, will be designed at the same time, and are expected to be completed by December 2025.
As WMA moves forward with its convenience center projects on St. Croix, the Authority also plans to convert bin sites into convenience centers in Cancryn, Red Hook, and Bournefield on St. Thomas as well as at the Susannaberg Transfer Station on St. John.
The Authority is still awaiting approval from HFA to use CDBG – DR funding for its convenience center projects in the St. Thomas/St. John District before it can issue a request for proposals, Bruney said.
“We are at the beginning stages,” he said. “As soon as we get approval, we will send out an RFP for design and construction, similar to what we did for St. Croix.”
Bruney said some of the obstacles on St. Thomas include acquiring property from the Virgin Islands Housing Authority and Virgin Islands Port Authority, as well as completing environmental studies. He said WMA is also trying to open a convenience center in Smith Bay.
“We have different challenges that we are trying to address in order for us to move forward, but we are working on it, and we should be getting some answers pretty soon,” he said.
In addition to upgrading the bin sites with the convenience center projects, Griffith said WMA plans to increase revenue collections by charging for house-to-house garbage collection.
“So, we’ll be giving you new convenience centers and we’ll be improving the house-to-house garbage collection in the territory and just make St. Croix and then St. Thomas and St. John a lot cleaner places,” Griffith said.
