By Sheldon Bramble
In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, we all know the chronic problem among some who will throw away their litter right where they are walking, without thinking.
We hope this will disappear from our culture with a national initiative for more effective education of our people in this regard. To complain is one thing. But what is really needed is the addressing of these challenges by relevant authorities with effective strategies, well thought through and executed.
The removal of white goods has been an important addition to cleaning up our homes, villages and towns. While the community groups have done well on some of our beaches and river ways to remove garbage, there are still more steps to take and concerns needing attention.
Our environment, including coasts and water ways are under threat not just by climate (changing or not), but mostly by us, humans. We create waste and much of it is not biodegradable. For more effective disposal of these we cannot create landfills without thinking. Recycling is needed. And for this to occur efficiently, there is a need for the separation of garbage into categories.
When a household puts out their garbage weekly, it is usually a combination of kitchen waste, plastic, metal and glass items. We are pretty sure the garbage trucks are not taking these to a place where each bag is sorted. So essentially, there is the creation of a situation which, especially small island states, like ourselves, should have been more forward thinking about by now.
Separating garbage allows a country to recycle more items, preventing them from ending up in landfills. This, in turn, reduces its overall impact on the environment. We commend the Central Water and Sewerage Authority for their diligent and efficient work over the years.
This is a call on the relevant authorities to bring this addition to our treatment of waste in SVG. We should to be listed in the countries of the world, especially islands, which do this by now. In fact, SVG ought to be leading the way in the Caribbean in this area. Paradise is not just a nice photo. A well-managed environment is key to the health of nature around us and ours as well.
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Mr. Bramble says, “The removal of white goods has been an important addition to cleaning up our homes, villages and towns.” Is he aware that some residents of this country have yet to see any such service? And despite repeated enquiries, there is not information about when such a service might be offered to residents of that Southern Grenadine island called Mayreau. CWSA has heard of Mayreau, haven’t they?
We need more garbage bins in public, we need to deal with the vagrants that vandalize those that we have. We also need to deal with the hypocrisy of not being able to have plastic bags at supermarket but can buy and use them.