Ruling: Court upholds urgency at Selibon, puts responsibility at Executive Council
On Friday 21 February, the Court of First Instance of Bonaire returned the responsibility for the situation at Selibon Lagun to the Executive Council of Bonaire. The ruling confirms that there has been question of dereliction of duty in the area of permitting and enforcement. However, the court concluded that the Executive Council of the Public Entity Bonaire (OLB) should have been given one last short deadline to resolve the issues. The measures that have meanwhile been taken by the Acting Kingdom Representative are deemed to be appropriate and necessary by the court and are upheld.
Since the substitution of November 2024, much has been done under the responsibility of the Acting Kingdom Representative to address the issues at Selibon Lagun. Urgent violations of legislation and regulations at the waste centre have now almost all been rectified, thus averting the acute short-term risks.
Hazardous waste
The containers with asbestos-containing waste at the premises had been repaired by the end of January 2025, and containers for new asbestos are at the premises. The offal is now being processed correctly, the fence of the waste centre is compliant with the regulations, and the security of the waste centre has been tightened.
Final measures
A solution has been found for new biomedical waste; a new refrigerated container is being installed shortly. Special transport containers have now been shipped from the Netherlands for the disposal of the available biomedical waste. They will arrive in March, after which the repacking of the nine containers will begin. The biomedical waste will then be shipped to the Netherlands for destruction.
Continuation up to the Executive Council
It is now up to the Executive Council to finalise the final measures quickly and adequately and link them to the waste policy for the longer term. The Acting Kingdom Representative transfers the deployed and finalised measures to the Executive Council.
It is crucial for the Acting Kingdom Representative that concrete results are achieved quickly in good cooperation. The Acting Kingdom Representative is continuing the inter-governmental supervision in the context of Selibon Lagun with the objective of finding a structural solution for a healthy and safe waste policy on Bonaire.