Illegal dumping concern

THE head of the authority which holds the responsibility for protecting the Barbados Brand is of the opinion that indiscriminate dumping on the island is getting out of control and is calling on policymakers to enforce the regulations put in place to address it.

Following an early morning clean-up effort in the Warrens area, yesterday, Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Tourism Product Authority (BTPA), Dr. Kerry Hall, told The Barbados Advocate that she was disappointed and concerned about not only the large volume of garbage gathered, but also the type of material collected during the effort, which was led by the Authority.

Some of the garbage items collected included plastic bottles and covers, cigarette cartons, juice boxes, plastic bags and containers, snack wrappers, paper receipts and styrofoam containers, among others.

“Based on what I saw here this morning, just in this small catchment area, in one hour, we have over 400 pounds of garbage, that tells a serious and a disturbing tale. We need to do something about it. It was quite bad. People are just passing and throwing these things, obviously through windows, or they are walking pass and just eating and dropping without thinking. We need a few good men and a few good women to stand up for Barbados on behalf of Barbados and make this right,” a passionate Dr. Hall declared.

“Education and sensitisation, yes, is a way and putting up more receptacles is another way, but if all else fails, enforcement has to come into play because people don’t tend to do things unless there are consequences attached and I know the consequences are on the books. We need now to send a signal to Barbadians that if they can’t do it on their own... In the final analysis, we will all suffer if we destroy the environment of this nation. It has to be stopped, and it has to be stopped now, by any means necessary. A zero tolerance approach has to be taken to this situation,” she added.

Dr. Hall said the BTPA is very mindful that in addition to safety and security, keeping the island clean is one of the fundamental components that makes the Barbados tourism product successful. However, the Authority has been experiencing challenges in this area for a while.

Just last year, the BTPA reported that visitors were complaining about the dirty state of the island.

“There is something called social media where when people come, they go on social media and they post negative reviews about the state of cleanliness on the island, and it has a negative impact on us as a tourism destination,” she said.

The CEO indicated that Barbadians must be mindful that visitors to the island come from countries where emphasis is placed on recycling and creating sustainable environments, areas in which she suggested, Barbados tends to be lagging behind.

“The problem that I have is that even though we have bins, people think it is okay to throw things through a car window, or a bus window, or just drop it while you are walking. It is senseless littering and that is what we need to stop. We need to plug that hole with the senseless littering where people are not even conscious of when they drop that wrapper. The watchword is ‘I giving the Sanitation people work’, and there are even little [children] in schools saying that and they obviously get it from their parents. We need the personal responsibility where we either keep the garbage in our cars until we get home and then put it in the bin, or we find a bin,” the CEO suggested.

Dr. Hall said Barbadians keeping the island clean must not only be done for the Barbados Brand, but also for the health of the nation.

“Cleanliness is next to Godliness and it’s next to healthiness too. A clean nation is a healthy nation. I keep saying that our foreparents may not have been the most wealthy people, but they were humble, neat, tidy and clean. I remember going to my grandmother’s and she was always sweeping up around the house, the place was always clean and she was always neat and tidy,” she said.

“We have become a nation of indiscriminate litterers and we need now to come to a place where we reposition and reset our compasses as Barbadians. We need Barbadian people to take a sense of pride in the ownership of this nation. We want to educate and sensitise in a way that resonates and triggers something within the deepest part of our consciousness, to understand that this is our country and we need to leave this country better off than we found it. Barbados belongs to us, and we need to get it together and come out and clean our nation,” Dr. Hall added.

BTPA’s Clean Bim campaign made the effort to clean up the Warrens, St. Michael area and also to educate the public about proper waste management, recycling and reducing the use of plastics.

The Authority’s executive and special project manager of the Clean Bim Programme, Marsha Alleyne, reported that around 60 people joined the initiative which just started just after 6 a.m.

The Captain Clean mascot was also introduced to the public for the first time in Massy Car Park, Warrens. Alleyne explained that the mascot is very passionate about the environment and will be encouraging persons to make better decisions as it relates to indiscriminate dumping. Captain Clean will also be going into schools to inform children that dumping is a bad practice.

“So wherever he sees garbage he has a problem. So if you encounter him, he will tell you how to ensure you don’t litter and even more important, to recycle and protect the environment.