We stay at La Vista Beach for 5 to 7 weeks a year. While not residents, I have some observations on SXM waste. In the US we are very conscious of waste issues and recycle/compost as much as possible. Housekeeping changes the waste basket plastic bag daily despite requests to skip the day. This is a huge waste of plastic bags daily. The partially full bags are just dumped in the landfill. (probably fueling the frequent fires). The natives are NOT aware of recycling. We try to recycle as much of our glass, plastic and aluminum as possible. We bring it to the recycling center across from Carrefour in Cay Hill. Last year there was a plastic/aluminum collection box in the Cash & Carry (?) parking lot in Cole bay. Last year Corona beer had a recycling day where you could get a bottle of beer for 5 plastic items. Since I would recycle anyway, I brought 35 items in a large bag. A couple of LVB staff offered to take them. When I explained what I was doing, They said "Yeah Right". There were no other people at the drop off when I went. There had been a full page ad in the Herald. SXM as a whole does not seem to see waste management as an issue, despite the landfill nearing capacity and the frequent fires with toxic smoke.