ST. CROIX — Just Right Trucking & Trash Removal began house-to-house garbage collection for the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority in several St. Croix neighborhoods last week, according to a WMA official.
The Authority hired Just Right Trucking following the departure of Bates Trucking & Trash Removal from a month-to-month contract at the beginning of the new year due to unpaid debts.
“Because this was an emergency house-to-house collection because of the situation that occurred with our previous contractor, we’re doing a six-month contract now, and then we’re going to put it out for a two-year contract,” Daryl Griffith, WMA interim executive director and chief financial officer, said.
The transition to a new garbage hauler has not been without challenges.
“We’d like to apologize to the communities because we know that for the last two weeks we had a very sporadic garbage collection, but now that we have a new contractor on board, those issues will be eliminated,” Griffith said.
While Bates Trucking will no longer service neighborhoods for WMA, the company will continue trash removal from all the housing communities on St. Croix under an agreement directly with the Virgin Islands Housing Authority.
“They reached out to me to continue picking up the trash just for the housing communities,” James Bates, owner of the trucking company, said about VIHA, clarifying he submitted a bid, but the contract is not finalized. “In the meantime, the garbage was piling up and they asked us to go ahead, and we agreed to go ahead and pick up.”
Bates told WTJX on December 24, 2024 that he decided to sever his ties with WMA and lay off his employees who serviced those routes to save his business because the Authority had repeatedly failed to pay him. He estimated at the time he would lay off about 20 employees and retain about 10 to continue trash removal for his commercial clients and private residents.
Bates said he ended up retaining some of his staff he has employed for several years who were working on the WMA contract so they could assist with his other routes. He said, however, they are not working as many hours.
Griffith said Bates asked WMA to waive the tipping fees for the garbage he collects from the housing communities.
“We’ve agreed to do that so that we can keep the price as low as possible for the housing communities until we are able to procure a funding source for garbage collection,” the interim executive director said. “The Virgin Islands is the only place underneath the U.S. flag where residents do not directly pay for garbage collection. So that’s something that we’re going to have to change in order for us to be able to actually pay the contractors for garbage collection.”
After adding up the cost of garbage collection territory wide inclusive of house-to-house service, bin sites, and convenience centers combined with the operations at the landfills, Griffith said it costs WMA $23.5 million annually.
“That’s why it’s critical that we start generating some revenue to cover these expenses because the Waste Management Authority is an independent instrumentality, but it does not generate its own revenue to cover these expenses,” he said. “So, we’re going to have to come to some compromise between us, the residents of the territory, and the local government so that we can just keep the Virgin Islands clean and beautiful.”
When it comes to paying Bates what he is owed, Griffith said WMA will continue making payments until the debt is cleared. He said WMA owes Bates a little bit over $700,000.
“He’s already informed us that he will be more than happy to continue working with the authority,” Griffith said. “The only issue is the timeliness of payment, so we’ll continue to make payments towards him to make sure that his company’s made whole.”
Bates disagreed that WMA only owes him $700,000.
“It’s way more than that,” he said.
Bates said he would consider entering a new contract with the Authority if his debt got paid down.
“If they come and pay me a good amount and they agree to pay me back on a steady pace, then I will probably work for them if they do that,” he said.
The neighborhoods that are now being serviced by Just Right Trucking are Ginger Thomas, Sunny Acres, Estate Diamond, Estate Strawberry, Estate Strawberry Hill, Estate Diamond Ruby, Estate Ruby, Estate Mary’s Fancy, Estate Castle Coakley (Old and New), Estate Peter’s Rest, Estate Sion Hill, Tan Tan Terrace, Estate Sion Farm, Estate Rattan (South), Estate Constitution Hill, Estate Annas Hope, Estate Herman Hill, Estate Catherine’s Rest, Rosegate, Estate Humbug, Veteran’s Land, Tamarind, Estate Cane Garden, and Estate Work & Rest.
