GREAT BAY--Member of Parliament Veronica Jansen-Webster says it is unacceptable that residents who already pay taxes are increasingly taking it upon themselves to remove garbage from roadsides and neighborhoods, as she called on government to take immediate action while new waste collection and roadside cleaning contracts move through the tender process.
Speaking during the 2026 budget debate, Jansen-Webster said she has repeatedly seen residents and community groups voluntarily cleaning areas that should be maintained through government services.
“Why do our regular citizens have to go on the road and pick up garbage? They’re paying taxes to pick up the garbage,” Jansen-Webster said.
She acknowledged that the Minister of VROMI has launched tenders for garbage collection and roadside cleaning, but stressed that completing those processes will take time. Her concern, she said, is what government intends to do in the meantime.
“We all know that it has to go through a whole process, so what’s going to happen in the meantime?” she asked. “We cannot continue to watch this garbage and do nothing, say nothing, and just keep driving.”
Jansen-Webster said the condition of the island has reached a point where the lack of cleanliness is affecting how St. Maarten looks and feels, both for residents and visitors.
“It doesn’t look good, it doesn’t feel good,” she said, adding that the condition of some areas has become difficult to ignore.
The MP publicly thanked residents who have taken the initiative to clean their communities, including persons she has personally seen collecting garbage along roadsides. However, she stressed that voluntary efforts should not become a substitute for government fulfilling its responsibility.
If government cannot arrange an interim solution before the new contracts become operational, Jansen-Webster suggested organizing a national cleanup involving government, Parliament, service clubs, community organizations and residents.
“Call all of us then. Let all of us say Saturday is general cleanup, then all of us come out and start cleaning the roads,” she said. “It really needs cleaning.”
‘St. Maarten Has Let Herself Go Again’
Jansen-Webster connected the state of the island to St. Maarten’s tourism product, recalling advice received during earlier tourism planning exercises.
She referred to a tourism consultant who had once described St. Maarten as having enormous tourism potential, but compared the island’s physical condition at the time to “a middle-aged lady who let herself go.”
Jansen-Webster said beautification efforts subsequently improved the appearance of the destination, but warned that the country has again reached a stage where deterioration is becoming increasingly visible.
She argued that St. Maarten should approach its physical environment with the same attention that major tourism destinations give to cleanliness and presentation.
The MP also pointed to studies she recalled from previous tourism work indicating that garbage tends to attract additional dumping because people are more likely to litter in areas that are already dirty. She also referred to research associating neglected surroundings with wider social problems.
Her point, she said, is that maintaining clean surroundings is not simply about appearance. It affects how people treat public spaces and how residents and visitors experience the country.
Beaches, Roadsides and Car Wrecks Also Need Attention
Jansen-Webster noted that beach cleaning also falls within the roadside cleaning arrangements and asked what measures will be taken to maintain these areas before the new contract is fully implemented.
She also raised the longstanding problem of abandoned and wrecked vehicles, saying the issue has been discussed repeatedly without sufficient visible improvement.
The MP acknowledged that addressing abandoned vehicles requires coordination between VROMI and the Ministry of Justice, but said that should not prevent government from acting.
“We know what we need to do. Let’s do it,” she said.
She warned that St. Maarten is approaching another tourism high season and cannot continue promoting itself as a premium destination while residents and visitors are confronted by garbage, wrecked vehicles and neglected public areas.
Jansen-Webster said the situation is particularly frustrating because the Minister of TEATT is working to attract visitors, including higher-spending tourists, while the physical appearance of the destination risks undermining those efforts.
MP Raises Safety Concerns Over Poorly Maintained Public Areas
The MP also connected the general condition of public spaces to pedestrian safety, referring to damaged areas and hazards that she said remain visible in heavily trafficked locations.
She cited a recent claim involving approximatelyXCG 44,000following an alleged fall and questioned whether government is exposing itself to further liability by allowing dangerous conditions to remain unaddressed.
Jansen-Webster referred specifically to holes and protruding objects in areas frequented by pedestrians and tourists, saying these hazards should be identified and repaired before additional injuries occur.
She asked whether VROMI has conducted inspections of high-traffic tourism areas such as Philipsburg and Maho to identify such problems.
The MP said repairing these areas should not be viewed solely as an investment in tourism, because residents also walk, shop and conduct business in the same locations.
Jansen-Webster's broader message to government was that cleaning and maintaining St. Maarten cannot wait indefinitely for lengthy administrative processes to conclude.
She said residents are already demonstrating that they care enough about their communities to go outside and clean them themselves, but government must now demonstrate the same urgency.
With tourism activity expected to increase in the coming months, she urged VROMI and the wider government to implement interim measures immediately while longer-term waste collection, roadside cleaning and maintenance arrangements are finalized.
