At the helm of the SLSWMA is General Manager Joanna Raynold Arthurton, an Urban Planner and Policy Specialist with over thirty (30) years of experience in Physical Planning, Housing Planning, Urban Development, Environmental Management, Social Development and Education. Her leadership has contributed to positioning the SLSWMA as a champion of sustainable waste management, balancing technical expertise with innovative solutions to address Saint Lucia’s growing waste management challenges. Ms. Raynold Arthurton explained that the Authority’s work goes far beyond simply waste collection. The activities of the SLSWMA include inter alia the operation of two major waste management facilities and a composting facility; collection of waste from households and public institutions; treatment of biomedical waste collected from medical facilities; the management of specialized disposals from ships and aircraft; and the establishment of depots for the disposal of waste oil, which is supplied to local businesses for energy generation. Meanwhile, the commercial sector and other private entities are responsible for managing the waste they generate. Education and public awareness are central to the Authority’s approach, helping communities understand the importance of waste reduction, recycling, proper disposal and the impact of littering. By promoting these practices, the Authority encourages behavioural changes that not only reduce the volume of waste entering landfills but also help keep public spaces clean and environmentally safe. The heart of this system lies in two key facilities, the Deglos Sanitary Landfill in the capital city Castries and the Vieux Fort Solid Waste Management Transfer Facility in south of the island. The Deglos Sanitary Landfill, established in 2003 under a World Bank funded project, is described by the General Manager as a critical milestone in Saint Lucia’s waste management infrastructure. This facility replaced the overburdened Ciceron dumpsite, setting a new standard for safe and controlled waste disposal. Originally designed to last twenty (20) years, the landfill has already outperformed expectations. In 2021, it was estimated that only about fifty percent (50%) of its capacity of one million, one hundred and seventy-four thousand (1,174,000) tons had been utilized. Meanwhile, the Vieux Fort facility has been converted from a controlled dumpsite, to serve as a transfer station, with waste transported six days a week to the Deglos Sanitary Landfill for final disposal. 51 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 12, ISSUE 08 SAINT LUCIA SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY
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