Residents speaks on garbage collection, 428 rate services

GREAT BAY--A new snap survey conducted by 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦’𝘴 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘦over the past week shows that residents have mixed experiences with garbage collection services across St. Maarten, with concerns surrounding consistency, satisfaction levels and public involvement in decisions regarding waste collection contracts. (see related survey mages in supporting post).

A total of 428 people participated in the online survey, which asked residents about their satisfaction with current garbage collection services, reliability of collection schedules, professionalism of garbage collection workers, preferred service providers and whether residents should have a greater role in selecting companies awarded garbage collection contracts.

The written comments submitted by respondents are also available for download at the end of this article, providing additional insight into the experiences and concerns shared by participants.

The results show a community with no overwhelming consensus on the current state of garbage collection. While some residents reported being satisfied with services, a significant portion expressed dissatisfaction.

When asked whether they were satisfied with the garbage collection service provided by their neighborhood hauler, 26.9 percent said they were “very satisfied,” while 23.9 percent said they were “somewhat satisfied.” Combined, this means just over half of respondents expressed some level of satisfaction.

However, 14.7 percent indicated they were “somewhat dissatisfied” and 22.3 percent said they were “very dissatisfied.” Another 12.2 percent selected neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.

The survey also examined whether garbage is collected according to schedule. The largest group of respondents, 36.1 percent, stated that collection happens “most of the time,” while 24.4 percent said it happens “always.”

At the same time, reliability concerns remain. 22.7 percent said collection happens only “sometimes,” while 8.4 percent said it happens rarely and another 8.4 percent said it happens almost never.

Regarding the professionalism of garbage collection workers, responses were generally more positive. Thirty-seven percent rated the workers as “good,” while 16.4 percent rated them as “excellent.” A further 29.8 percent rated professionalism as fair.

However, 10.5 percent rated professionalism as poor and 6.3 percent as very poor, showing that experiences vary among residents.

The survey also asked residents who were not satisfied with their current hauler which company they would prefer to service their neighborhood. Among those respondents, All Waste In Place received the highest preference at 44.5 percent, followed by Meadowlands at 32.1 percent. Leonard Enterprises received 11.7 percent, Garden Boyz 8.8 percent and Wilco 2.9 percent.

One of the clearest findings from the survey was the public’s interest in having more involvement in decisions surrounding garbage collection contracts.

When asked whether residents should have a greater say in deciding which company receives the garbage collection contract for their neighborhood, 30.3 percent answered “Definitely Yes” and 31.1 percent answered “Yes.”

Combined, 61.4 percent of respondents supported residents having a greater role in determining which company provides garbage collection services.

Meanwhile, 21.8 percent said they were not sure, 10.9 percent answered no and 5.9 percent answered definitely no.

The survey results come as Government prepares for the next phase of solid waste collection services, following the reopening of the public tender process for waste collection contracts covering 2026–2029.

The findings highlight that while many residents recognize that garbage collection services are functioning adequately in their areas, there remains a significant level of dissatisfaction regarding reliability, consistency and the overall quality of service.

The results also indicate that residents are interested not only in cleaner surroundings, but also in having their voices considered when decisions are made about essential public services that directly affect their communities.

Download the written comments submitted by respondents below. Comments laced with profanity, insults and political accusations were removed.

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