Waste Management proposes $360 annual household garbage fee as landfills near capacity; authority cites illegal oil dumping and one-million tire backlog

The Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority told the Senate committee it is proposing a territory-wide residential garbage collection fee of $360 per household per year, while warning that the territory's landfills are approaching capacity and face recurring illegal dumping problems including large volumes of used cooking oil and more than one million tires.

Interim Executive Director Daryl Griffith said on Feb. 19 the authority will present a formal fee filing to the Public Service Commission (PSC) in March and described the $360 figure as a straight-line calculation based on the authority's total solid-waste operating cost and the number of households. Griffith said the total cost of solid-waste services (collection, bin sites, convenience centers, public agencies, schools and landfill operations) is roughly $19.6 million per year and that the proposed fee would yield about $19 million if every household were assessed; after property-tax collection shortfalls the authority projects roughly $15 million in new revenue.

Landfill capacity and hazardous materials Griffith said Bovoni landfill…