Merdene Cadogan and Carol-Ann Whittington speaking about the various natural products offered by Earth Mother Botanicals Ltd.
GET TOUgh!
Sun, 09/25/2016 - 12:00am
Barbadians urged to stop littering
Stop littering! This is the strong appeal coming from Special Projects Officer at the National Conservation Commission’s (NCC), Ricardo Marshall.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of NCC’s Environmental/ Arbor Expo at the Codrington, St. Michael headquarters yesterday, he said that if those litterbugs persist, then perhaps there is a need to implement tougher penalties.
“I remember years ago in St. Lucia there were ‘litter wardens’ within the City and Castries was the cleanest I have ever seen it. Those wardens [patrolled] the City and if you were
caught littering you were fined,” he recalled.
“Obviously that would not fall under our particular mandate, but these are perhaps things we could look at… or things that agencies or the responsible ministries are perhaps considering.”
Marshall is also reminding Barbadians that it costs the State to keep public areas clean.
“There is a perception that because it’s a government area and Government is cleaning it, then there is not a cost – there is a cost for everything. The staff has to be paid, you have to purchase the machinery, maintenance for the trucks and so on,” he pointed out.
“A lot of people that would throw cups and so on out of their car window, or who don’t use the bins provided – I am pretty certain that if you pass by their homes, you don’t see them throwing stuff out through their windows. So they have to be mindful of the fact that these areas are for all of us to enjoy – for us Barbadians as well as visitors… Be more considerate,” he urged.
The expo formed part of global celebrations to mark National Arbor Day, celebrated annually on September 22, under the theme: Arbor 2016: Celebrating 50 Years of Independence with Pride.
This year’s event showcased various products and services consumed and used on a daily basis – derived from trees.
The Special Projects Officer added that visitors also had the opportunity to attend a number of workshops and demonstrations during the day focused on areas relating to greening. These included plant care, plant propagation, recycling, composting and alternative energy solutions. (TL)