IT IS GENERALLY accepted that there is a national waste management problem across Barbados. Illegal dumping is a major headache for the entire country given the unauthorised disposal of waste on both public and private property. It is a situation for which there must be an urgent solution.
This is evident from the eyesore and hazards created by the illegal dumping at the side of the road, in cart roads and in gullies. We seem not to understand the money it costs to clean up these illegal dumping sites and the risk to health by disease-spreading rodents and mosquitoes in giving them a place to live and breed.
There is also the threat to the environment caused by the polluting of groundwater and the negative impact on plants and wildlife.
For a tourist destination, these ingrained bad habits are also a national embarrassment.
Clean-ups can be undertaken of these illegal dumps but such efforts are costly and often divert scarce money and manpower that could be better spent. In any case, clean-ups do not deter future dumping.
What happens frequently on President Kennedy Drive, in Nelson Street and other areas of The City and in indeed at many now well-known spots across the country highlights the problem.
We cannot allow this to continue any longer, especially since there are often clearly visible signs warning against illegal dumping and threatening prosecution of violators.
The garbage collection crews at the Sanitation Services Authority (SSA) do a laudable job when one takes into consideration the trying circumstances under which they work – too few working vehicles and a public which shows neither consideration nor care when it comes to disposing household waste.
It seems that in Barbados as long as the garbage does not inconvenience an individual, then where and how it is dumped does not matter. Despite its many challenges, the SSA must nonetheless do much more if it is to beat this problem of indiscriminate garbage disposal.
It may even become necessary to mount surveillance cameras near the illegal dumping hot spots, and relentlessly prosecute those who breach the laws.
One easily implementable measure is that of a sustained national public education campaign to effect behavioural change.
Competent communications specialists ought to be employed to do the job. In the meantime, Barbadians must get on board with recycling at home, school and work. What we need is for everyone to act responsibly with the disposal of their garbage and show their national pride.
