Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority, St. John

The Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority, or VIWMA, handles household trash, landfills and wastewater in the territory, and its St. John office is at Susannaberg. St. John has no working landfill: the old Susannaberg Landfill closed in the early 1990s after an underground fire and now operates as a transfer station. Residents take household waste to disposal sites, known as bin sites, placed around the island, and VIWMA collects it, compacts it at the transfer station and barges it to St. Thomas for the Bovoni Landfill. If you are buying or renting on St. John, ask where the nearest bin site is, since household trash on St. John is collected from these sites. Owners of apartment buildings with four or more units must hire a private hauler. The territory's landfills refuse items such as tires, electronics, used motor oil and hazardous chemicals, so call VIWMA before disposing of them.