Ruling: Court Confirms Urgency at Selibon, Places Responsibility on Executive Board

The Court of First Instance of Bonaire returned the responsibility for the situation at Selibon Lagun to the Executive Board of Bonaire on Friday, February 21. The ruling confirms that there was negligence in the area of permit issuance and enforcement. However, the judge concludes that the executive board of the public body Bonaire (OLB) should have been given one last short term to resolve the issues. The measures taken by the acting Rijksvertegenwoordiger (wRv) are deemed desirable and necessary by the judge and are maintained.

Since the appointment in November 2024, much has been done under the responsibility of the wRv to tackle the issues at Selibon Lagun. Urgent violations of laws and regulations at the waste center have now been almost entirely rectified, thus averting acute risks in the short term.

Hazardous Waste

The containers with asbestos waste on the site were already repaired by the end of January 2025, and containers for new asbestos are on site. The slaughter waste is now being processed correctly, the fencing of the waste center meets the regulations, and the security of the waste center has been tightened.

Final Measures

A solution for new biomedical waste has been found, and a new refrigerated container will be placed soon. Special transport packaging for the existing biomedical waste has now been shipped from the Netherlands. This will arrive in March, after which the repackaging of the 9 containers will begin. The biomedical waste will then be transported to the Netherlands for destruction.

Next Steps for the Executive Board

It is now up to the Executive Board to quickly and adequately complete the final measures and link them to long-term waste policy. The wRv is transferring the initiated and completed measures to the Executive Board.

For the acting Rijksvertegenwoordiger, it is crucial that concrete results are achieved quickly in good cooperation. The wRv continues the inter-administrative supervision concerning Selibon Lagun with the aim of establishing a structural solution for a healthy and safe waste policy in Bonaire.