The New National Landfill, located in Aimeliik State, will open this coming Monday, February 22, and will begin collecting waste from the ten states of Babeldaob.
The Babeldaob Waste Collection Company, which won the bid for trash collection, will begin its waste collection routes on the same day, according to the new operation schedule. The Waste Collection and Transportation system will collect trash from households, State offices, schools, and parks, while private businesses and national government agencies will be responsible for transporting their own waste to the landfill site, or to deposit their waste in existing waste sites.
With two trucks in service, trash will be collected from Ngaraard and Ngarchelong States on Monday, Ngaraard again and Ngardmau on Tuesday, Ngiwal, Melekeok, and Ngeremlengui on Wednesday, Ngchesar, Ngatpang, and Aimeliik on Thursday, and Aimeliik again and Airai on Friday. This follows a trial run of the trash collection system last week, which helped to determine how long it would take to collect trash from each State.
Koror State will continue to use the old National Landfill at M-Dock until it reaches its trash-holding capacity.
The National Landfill will be open to receive trash on weekdays from 9am to 5pm, and will be open on Saturdays and Sundays from 1pm to 5pm.
The National Landfill, which measures roughly 280 meters by 280 meters, has the capacity to hold 384,898 cubic meters of waste, and is anticipated to have a lifespan of twenty-five years. Developed over a period of two years and costing over $10 million, the Japanese-funded project utilizes the “fukuoka method”, which uses bacteria-power to decompose the waste, contain its odor, and reduce its volume.