The Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority is telling contracted trash haulers that it does not have enough money to honor agreements, and that cutbacks must be made, James Bates of Bates Trucking, the largest trash-hauling company on St. Croix said on Monday.
“They said they ain’t receiving no money from the government, so they can’t keep up with the five-year contact,” Bates said.
“We pick up neighborhoods twice a week. They want us to cut back to once a week,” he continued. “We tell them no. It’s the same amount of trash, and they want to pay us less.”
According to Bates, the haulers are only halfway through the five-year contract for trash removal.
Government officials have remained mum on the issue: “We are in the negotiation process with the haulers, and at this time we have no comment,” Stella Saunders, spokeswoman for the Waste Management Authority said. She added that the Waste Management Authority will be before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday for a budget hearing: “After the budget hearing, we may be in a better position to discuss it,” she said.
The waste-haulers scheduled a press conference about the problem at 10 a.m. today at Chris’ Hideout on St. Croix.
Tags: usvi waste management authority, vi waste management authority
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