Beginning January 1, 2017

All businesses in the Virgin Islands are prohibited from providing plastic checkout bags and non-recyclable paper bags for groceries or other merchandise.

Beginning April 1, 2017

Any business violating any provision or any regulation adopted by law will be subject to:

1. An order to discontinue distribution of prohibited bags, and
2. A civil fine of not less than $500 or more than $1,000 for each day of violation.

What are Tipping Fees? 
A tipping fee is the monetary charge levied upon a given type and quantity of waste received at a waste disposal facility.

Where will the fees be charged? 
The fees will be levied at the three (3) VIWMA Disposal Facilities: the St. Croix Transfer Station, the Bovoni Landfill on St. Thomas and the Susannaberg Transfer Station on St. John.

Who will charged the Tipping Fees? 
The tipping fee will be levied and collected from all solid waste haulers and other direct customers that deliver solid waste to the three (3) Disposal Facilities noted above for disposal.

How will the fees be assessed? 
Each load of solid waste delivered will be weighed and categorized at the VIWMA waste disposal facility’s scale house upon arrival. The fees will be calculated based on the type of waste delivered and the weight (measured in tons) of the load.

The Tipping Fee is based on measurement in Tons. What if a customer has less than 1 ton to dispose? Will they have to pay the minimum of 1 ton cost? 
No. Although the units of the fee are in “tons”, the rate is converted to ‘Pounds” to apply the appropriate charge. For example: a customer disposing of 1/10 of a ton of MSW, or 200 lbs, will be assessed a charge of $5.21 or 1/10th of $52.13.