Page sponsored by Texaco Caribbean Limited
Publication: Daily Nation
Paper Section And Page: 31A
Paper Date: Wed, Jun 20, 2001
Byline: Compiled by Terry Ally
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Page sponsored by Texaco Caribbean Limited |
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Garbage a matter of dollars and sense
PERHAPS the major problem that leads to littering and illegal dumping is that people do not take responsibility for their garbage. Perhaps because it is "garbage" people do not maintain ownership between throwing it out and it reaching the landfill. If they did, there would be less illegal dumps and to this end, when garbage laws are reviewed, chief executive officers (CEO) in the public and private sectors ought to be held liable for their garbage.
It is not the idea that CEOs should be hands-on in every minute detail of their operations. What it means is that systems should be put in place to effect that responsibility. Unlike private homes which get a free collection and disposal service by the Sanitation Service Authority, business houses must pay for the disposal of their garbage. Therefore a system could be set up where the contractor would provide proof of delivery of the garbage to the landfill, after which they be paid.
There were published incidents where companies found their garbage illegally dumped after paying big bucks to a private sector contractor to take it to the landfill. This system should short-circuit such acts. Companies could also take a marketing approach for products which eventually become one of the main components of garbage. Prime examples include Pine Hill Dairy buddy packs, Chefette cartons and cups, as well as Busta bottles.
These companies have used effective marketing to sell their products and should have an even more effective campaign to prevent their customers from littering. It is not complimentary to these companies' images when their containers are littering the verges of highways and canefields.
Garbage is big business and involves a lot of money. Return of plastic and glass beverage bottles alone is said to be worth $19.2 million per year. Government established a Solid Waste Unit with a budget of $10.5 million while the Sanitation Service Authority's operation cost $28 million last year. And setting aside the controversy, the Greenland landfill cost $25 million to be established. Last year, cleaning up of illegal dumps cost in excess of $100 000. With over $58 million spent annually on garbage, it should be time for people to wake and smell the coffee, not the garbage.
Spreading the green word in the region
TWO Caribbean organisations are teaming up with a North American university to enhance environmental journalism in the region. The Environmental Communications Department of Loyola University in New Orleans, the Panos Institute, and the Caribbean Environmental Reporters Network (CERN) have formed a consortium to start a pilot project in environmental awareness. During a recent visit to Barbados, Professor Bob Thomas, chair of Environmental Communications at Loyola, paid a courtesy call on the Executive Editor of the Nation Publishing Company, Roxanne Gibbs. There will be a number of environmental journalism workshops throughout the region leading to the start of a series of environmental radio programmes and newspaper columns. Loyola which also brings skills and expertise in the areas of advertising, marketing, public relations, and Internet communications, will also be working with environmental non-governmental organisations on how to turn their information into news. The project will also see the establishment of a permanent secretariat for CERN in one of the islands of the Organisation of East Caribbean States.
Botanist's work about to get swamped
ONE of the leading botanists in the Caribbean
has agreed to help in the restoration of the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary as a
centre for local biodiversity and environmental education. Dr Sean Carrington, a
senior lecturer in the Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences of the
University of the West Indies, is internationally known for his specialised
knowledge of Caribbean flora. He is the author of two books, Wild Plants of
Barbados and Wild Plants of the Eastern Caribbean. "The involvement of Dr
Carrington in the environmental restoration process would be of immense value in
ensuring that the swamp environment reaches its full value as a centre of local
botanical biodiversity," said Roger Sweeney, associate director of
the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary. The Government has already indicated that the
swamp be given the status of a national heritage site and sanctuary officials
will be working carefully to ensure that its environment can be restored and
preserved. The Graeme Hall Swamp has had a long history of changing land use and
environmental stress.
WATERMELON TWIST. Local farmers preparing to pack and ship full-grown square watermelons, in Zentsuji, southwestern Japan. The idea of square watermelons was conceptualised by a local agricultural association 20 years ago so that the melons could easily fit into refrigerators. The melons are placed in square tempered glasses while they are growing. They cost about BDS$166 each. (AP Picture)
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM will be the topic of this week's environmental rap session. Newly appointed environmental officer of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association Wendy Rudder will be the speaker at Treading Lightly, Edghill, St Thomas. There will also be an exhibition on the subject. For further information telephone 425-0073.