PHILIPSBURG:--- Sixteen square miles. That’s all there is. Yet somehow, it’s more than the Government of St. Maarten seems to manage. Across the Dutch side of the island, from Cay Hill to Hope Estate, garbage piles fester in the heat. Rotting bags spill onto sidewalks, rats scurry through school zones, and the stench of mismanagement rises with the tropical sun. What began as isolated complaints has escalated into a full-blown public health and governance crisis—one that the government seems unable, or unwilling, to clean up.
The root of the problem lies in the 2021–2026 waste collection contracts, awarded under the Ministry of VROMI. From the start, the process was murky. Of 24 companies that submitted bids, 15 were tossed out for missing documents. Then, in a stunning reversal, six of those were re-evaluated and allowed back in. Two of the companies that now hold government contracts—Garden Boyz BV and Avyanna Clean Up and Construction—were among the initially disqualified. Even more troubling, four of the seven members of the tender evaluation committee resigned during the process, citing irregularities. What was left behind was a skeleton team making multimillion-guilder decisions.
By law, each contractor was supposed to provide at least two garbage trucks per assigned zone. Subcontracting was explicitly banned. Worker safety standards, including the use of protective gear and proper insurance, were clearly outlined. However, the Ombudsman’s 2022 investigation revealed the truth: those standards were widely disregarded, and the government failed to enforce them. Some contractors had no trucks. Others borrowed vehicles, cut corners, and skipped basic procedures. And yet, month after month, payments rolled out while garbage went uncollected.
Fast forward to 2025, and the island is now choking on the consequences. The budget for this year is stalled, caught in Parliament between amendments and political inertia. Without updated funding, the very agencies responsible for oversight and payment are handcuffed. Garbage collection is now at the mercy of half-equipped contractors, old agreements, and bad faith. The result? A sanitation collapse that touches every corner of the island.
Despite public frustration boiling over, there has been no clear recent press release from Minister of VROMI Patrice Gumbs Jr. addressing the garbage contracts directly. His office has pushed a three-step infrastructure improvement plan involving trench cleaning, wreck removals, and road resurfacing, but critics call it a distraction. “It’s like repainting the house while the plumbing explodes,” one resident said. Another likened it to “raking leaves during a hurricane.”
In Parliament, voices like MP Darryl York have sounded alarms. He called the island a “pigpen” and demanded to know what the government’s plan was. The silence from VROMI has only deepened public skepticism.
The truth is, garbage is only the symptom. The disease is in the system: a tendering process riddled with favoritism, a lack of enforcement, and a government that has yet to reconcile its legal obligations with public service. Sixteen square miles is not a lot of land. But when you bury it in negligence, corruption, and political evasion, it might as well be endless.
Until someone takes real responsibility, the only thing growing faster than the island’s trash is the public’s disgust.
