Analysis: National cleanup day exposed two truths Aruba can no longer ignore

By Tito Laclé

The Government of Aruba's national cleanup campaign accomplished something that many public initiatives fail to do: it mobilised an entire country. Thousands of Arubans took to the streets on Saturday to clean their homes, yards and neighbourhoods, ultimately collecting more than 211 tons of waste. That, in itself, is an undeniable success.

Yet, at the very moment the campaign demonstrated the commitment of so many citizens, it also exposed two major realities: Aruba has a serious waste problem, and the preparation for such a massive public response was simply not sufficient.

Whether by coincidence or not, the campaign was announced during the same week that Noticiacla published an analysis on the growing waste problem across the island. That showed the issue was already on the public agenda. The government responded with action, and that deserves recognition. Criticism should never be interpreted as a lack of appreciation for good intentions. On the contrary, good intentions deserve equally strong execution.

And that is where the real discussion begins.

According to several sources, the idea for the campaign had been circulating within the AVP-FUTURO cabinet for some time. That is understandable because, as government officials themselves explained, Prime Minister Mike Eman repeatedly witnessed the growing accumulation of waste during neighbourhood visits and meetings with residents. However, recognising a problem and preparing a nationwide operation to address it are two very different things.

What happened on Saturday illustrated exactly that.

The government succeeded in mobilising thousands of people. What it apparently did not prepare for was that thousands would actually respond. Ironically, the campaign's greatest success quickly became its biggest logistical challenge.

At several collection points, containers filled much faster than anticipated. Long queues of vehicles formed throughout the island. At Aruba Ports Authority, when the official closing time arrived, a considerable number of people were still waiting in line. When some of them were informed that they might no longer be able to unload their waste, frustration naturally began to rise.

Frankly, that reaction is easy to understand.

Imagine spending an entire morning cleaning your property, renting a pickup truck or trailer, loading it with waste, waiting in line for hours, only to hear there may no longer be enough capacity to receive it. Anyone would leave disappointed or even angry. Fortunately, the situation never escalated into a serious incident, but it clearly demonstrated that the logistical planning had not been designed for the best-case scenario.

And that is perhaps the campaign's most valuable lesson.

When organising a national event, you should not only prepare for a moderate response. You should also prepare for overwhelming success. One question I always ask organisers is simple:

"Are you prepared if public participation turns out to be far greater than expected?"

In this case, I find it surprising that the government itself appeared surprised by the turnout. Aruba did not suddenly accumulate waste overnight. The problem has been visible for years. Furthermore, the weekly neighbourhood bulk-waste collections had already shown that public demand was substantial. The information was there.

None of this means the campaign failed.

Quite the opposite.

The campaign proved that the Aruban people are willing to participate when they are given the opportunity. That may well be the most positive outcome of the entire day. At the same time, however, it also confirmed that Aruba's waste problem is considerably larger than many people—including perhaps the government itself—had anticipated.

And that brings me to the next question.

Is one national cleanup day enough?

Probably not.

If more than 211 tonnes of waste were collected in a single day, that is not merely a logistical success. It is evidence that an enormous amount of waste had been accumulating for a long time without being removed.

That means the solution cannot simply be an annual cleanup event.

As I have argued before, my concern is not with organising a one-day cleanup campaign. My concern is announcing it as a one-day event without immediately presenting it as the beginning of a broader structural policy. Waste accumulates every single day. Yes, more than 200 tons were collected on Saturday, but within weeks—or even days—large amounts of waste will once again begin to pile up across the island.

The tremendous publicity surrounding this campaign could have been used to announce the start of a permanent, structural approach instead of a single event.

Aruba needs easier access to waste disposal throughout the year, stronger public education, stricter enforcement against illegal dumping and a system that prevents residents from having to wait for a national campaign before cleaning their own property.

Ultimately, this campaign achieved two important things.

It showed that Aruba has a population willing to work together.

But it also showed that Aruba's waste problem is significantly larger than many had imagined.

If the government applies the lessons learned from this first edition—with more collection sites, more containers, more transport capacity and logistical planning designed for record participation—the next campaign could become not only a public success, but also an organisational success.

Perhaps that is the greatest achievement of this first experience: not the 211 tons of waste that were collected, but the lessons learned that could prevent the same problems from recurring in the future.

C'est la vie.