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Illegal dump cleared in Afetna
500 cubic yards of waste found
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Posted on Feb 27 2019
The Saipan Mayor’s Office had to use heavy equipment to clean up an illegal dumpsite in the Afetna area over the weekend. (Contributed Photo)
The Saipan Mayor’s Office staff spent their weekend in Afetna after finding an obscure illegal dumpsite at the back of Hong Yi Hardware that they cleaned up to prevent possible sanitary issues.
That took the Saipan Mayor’s Office 31 loads to the As Gonno staging area and totaled 517 cubic yards of garbage that were disposed of, according to Saipan Mayor’s Office field operations director Joann Aquino
To put that into perspective, a mid-sized car is about 5 cubic yards.
“It’s a very sad state. It is so sad to see people living in that kind of condition,” Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang told Saipan Tribune in an interview yesterday. “People who are [actively involved in illegal dumping] don’t deserve to live on this island.”
Apatang noted that it is a shame for young volunteers who are also students to be involved in picking up trash when some adults just illegally dump their waste right outside their homes.
“It’s just so sad that they are not cooperating with beautifying our island,” he said. “I would like to encourage our people to please work together and beautify our islands for our visitors,” he said, noting that the living conditions in the area was “so bad” that he believes the Department of Public Health should visit the area.
Aquino noted that a mayor’s office staff discovered the illegal dumpsite only last Friday.
“…The area was probably overlooked because of the area,” she said.
According to Aquino, the area is not immediately accessible unless you are deliberately heading into the area.
“We stumbled upon the [dumpsite]…when our guys swept the area,” she added.
According to Aquino, her staff had already blocked the road toward the back of Hong Yi Hardware to prevent further illegal dumping. She reiterated that the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality strictly enforces the 1989 anti-littering act.
