It is operated by the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) with a staff of ten and went into operation eight weeks ago.

SSA general nanager Chris Griffith said collecting litter from the roadways was not part of their legal mandate.

"We do not have statutory obligation to collect litter at the side of the highway, but we consider it our social responsibility to do so," he told the WEEKEND NATION.

The ten litter wardens comb the entire ABC Highway daily along with other roads which are not serviced by mechanical sweepers or other personnel.

"Excellent job'

"There is a gentleman named Hilmore Sealy who is doing an excellent job between Hothersal Turning and Norman A. Niles roundabouts, but there are challenges."

Those challenges were the same experienced by the private sector Litter Patrol which led to its frustration and eventually closure.

"The trouble is, and I've seen this happen, he would clean the area now and

along comes a commercial truck with a bag of garbage . . . and litters part of the area that he just worked so hard to clean. He then has to go back and pick up the garbage."

Asked how the SSA dealt with the matter, especially in enforcing the law requiring that trucks have their loads adequately covered, Griffith said the only response was to go back and clean up the area.

Big challenge

He said that law was within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Works.

"I don't want to be seen as avoiding the issue, but one of our challenges out there is the continued littering of the area even though we just cleaned it."

The private sector Litter Patrol was the brainchild of businessmen Peter Bynoe and Barney Gibbs and supported by over a dozen companies.

During its two years it operated with two people.

Citing mounting levels of frustration with continuing litter, the patrol ended its tour of duty last year.

When Greening Barbados was launched in February, volunteers collected 60 tonnes of litter, in four hours, from along the major highways, signalling that litter was an important source of illicit garbage and potential sources for facilitating the breeding of the dengue mosquito.