Editing Maurits van Hetten (section)

== Early life ==

Maurits van Hetten was born in Paramaribo, Suriname, on 2 October 1898. He began working as a horse-cart driver on 6 July 1916, aged 17. Van Hetten transported construction debris from building sites in Paramaribo and saved his earnings to establish his own business.

Using these savings, Van Hetten purchased a cheap undeveloped plot in Paramaribo. He opened it as a private dumping ground for construction debris on 10 August 1924. Horse carts remained the site's main means of transporting waste during its early years.