Government offices need to be "greener"

Publication: Weekend Nation
Paper Section And Page: 6x
Paper Date: Fri, Jun 6, 2001
Byline:

A challenge has been issued to the Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources, to lead by example and make all Government offices environmentally friendly.

Acting Canadian High Commissioner, D'Arcy Thorpe threw out the challenge to Minister Rawle Eastmond recently at an event organised to highlight its waste management and environmentally friendly practises.

Thorpe said he was willing to work with Government to enhance healthy environmental practices. He said he would first start with the Frank Walcott Building, Culloden Road, St Michael and Government Headquarters, Bay Street, St Michael.

Eastmond said his ministry has already started started this initiative. "We propose very soon to get all the stake holders who occupy the Frank Walcott building to adapt it to into an environmentally prominent building. So within three months we will start a number of environmental projects. We hope to start with separation of garbage and thereafter a small amount of
recycling and composting," Eastmond said.

"Government Headquarters is already the locus of an environmentally interesting programme where clean photovoltaic energy coming from sunlight is used to create electricity," he said, adding that some schools in Barbados already use that form of energy and it is just a matter of time before more Government offices get involved.

Eastmond acknowledged that getting people to start acting environmentally responsible is going to be hard.

"Unfortunately there are still those who are indifferent to matters to do with the environment and it seems as though it would require some major catastrophe to arouse some people from their slumber," he said.