News Projects Circular Economy
2 min.
In December 2021, just before the beginning of the new year, the second phase of Statia's large-scale car wreck collection and removal project started. After a successful first phase of the project in 2018, another 400+ car wrecks were removed from the island, mainly from the Man of War zone on the southeast side of the island, and shipped to St. Maarten for processing. The remaining 200 or so car wrecks will follow at a later date.
About the project
Back in 2018, it was the Directorate Economy, Nature and Infrastructure (ENI) of the Public Entity St. Eustatius who announced, in partnership with the local Waste Management Facility, that an initiative was being set up to deal with the increasing number of car wrecks spread all over the island, often in areas of environmental and natural significance. The goal was to collect the estimated 900 abandoned car wrecks on the island in the three following years and to ship them to St. Maarten for processing.
Before sending them to St. Maarten though, the wrecks are stripped as some of the waste can be reused on Statia itself right away. Overall, so including all the car wrecks that were collected as well as other metal waste, over 400 wrecks and more than 35 tons of waste zinc were sent to St. Maarten last December as part of phase two of the project. Never in the history of the island has there been a more successful removal of metal waste, including car wrecks.
Environmental improvement and the circular economy
The positive effects of the project are plenty, with the protection and improvement of the local natural environment and the promotion of the circular economy as main beneficiaries. First of all, the abandoned wrecks all over the island were posing a serious threat to both environmental and public well-being on the island. Apart from the polluting and damaging materials and substances often present in, and leaking from, car wrecks, they also often tend to attract rodents and insects over time.
Second of all, of course, there is the circular aspect of the project. The local authorities have taken the opportunity not only to work on environmental protection, but to focus on the economic value of the abandoned wrecks as well. All of the waste collected is sent to St. Maarten for processing, after which the processed materials are exported to the European Netherlands where it will be reused. This whole process takes place in accordance with international environmental standard so as to keep the carbon footprint of this massive recycling and reusing project as neutral as possible.
“We are very proud of this achievement and we encourage residents to keep Statia clean”, stated Anthony Reid, Director of the Directorate Economy, Nature and Infrastructure when asked about the value of the project, “We request everyone to bring all end-of-life vehicles to the Waste Management Facility to protect the island”.
Do you have a vehicle or other metal waste you want to get rid of? You can always contact Mr. Jeffrey Lewis at the Waste Management Facility or the ENI directly. The Statian Waste Management Facility continues to collect and process metal waste, including car wrecks and scrap metal, upon request.
The basis for this article was originally published on www.statiagovernment.com in December 2021.
