Just six days into 2023, it would be ridiculous to face another scourge of illegal dumping.
This is a deplorable and unhealthy practice that every right thinking Barbados should have abandoned last year.
Today, St. Thomas MP Cynthia Forde took a group of reporters on a tour of several sites that have been converted into garbage dumps in the central parish.
Content, Bucks, Stone Gully, and Jack-in-the-Box Gully are piles of debris such as animal carcasses, coconut shells, construction materials, discarded clothing, boxes, refrigerators, stoves, washing machines, and appliances. there is.
A visibly shaken Ford, without chopping words, questioned why people would take advantage of the secluded part of the parish to dispose of waste indiscriminately, especially after it has been repeatedly cleaned. .
“What is happening to our educated people? I am sorry that you have to go through grief.
“This is heartbreaking. For the past six weeks, I’ve been combing through these boulevards and roads to gather information and share it with the Honorable Minister. [Minister of Environment and National Beautification Adrian Forde] no one is very concerned. A minister came, brought his team, worked hard, and then the people came back the next night and repeated the same evils? ”
Ford demanded strong action. These people should be prosecuted and we want cameras installed in these areas to make sure the perpetrators are caught and have to pay heavy fines in court.”
When contacted, the environment minister declared that the time had come to talk about illegal dumping.
he said: We’re talking about locking up some people. I appeal to the Barbadians who have video footage of these incidents. I want proof of that.”
I could not agree more with Minister Forde. But we want more than we speak. In fact, that’s the heart of the matter.
All over this beautiful island, garbage dumps have been found repeatedly. Environmentalists and other groups clean garbage and waste gullies and beaches time and time again, but no one is held accountable even with laws in place to deal with criminals. .
Thus, despite the risks to our health, it repeatedly sends the message that abusing the environment is not a big deal.
No more lip service on this issue. First, deal with litter bugs. People who carelessly throw trash in public places where others can see it, dropping plastic bottles, tissues, food containers, and plastic bags on the road. They should not escape the appropriate penalty.
And anyone who hides and dumps a pile of trash in a secluded place will have to pay the maximum fine or spend time pondering at Dodds, or both, but not before cleaning up the mess .
If we allow this blatant disregard for cleanliness to continue, no promise or promise, no matter how tough, will save our beautiful and fragile environment.
It’s a poor reflection on all of us, and the sooner the problem is addressed, the better.
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