The garbage crisis need not have been

Apr 24, 2010 Editorial

A few days ago we had cause to comment on the disgusting attitude of people who contribute to the suffering and to the detriment of others in society. These are the people who disregard basic human behaviour and litter the streets. These are the people who are harshly critical of those in authority for allowing such things as floods when these very people are the ones who precipitate the cause.
Indeed the authorities must accept some blame. They should be the ones to police the society and to deal condignly with all those who seek to act in ways detrimental to the society. For example, the police, recognising that there are people who prey on the helpless—the chain snatchers and the armed robbers—deploy ranks to the locations where such happenings are almost commonplace.
The police have placed ranks among the crowd. The result is that many who attempt to grab valuables worn by those who go about their legitimate business get arrested as soon as they execute their act. Incidences of such occurrences have reduced in certain areas.
When criminals forced their way into people’s homes by kicking down their doors then robbed them and even killed them, the then President Desmond Hoyte ordered harsh action. He reactivated the gallows. In a very short time such crimes became history. To this day we do not hear of the wanton kicking down of doors for the purpose of armed robberies.
Close circuit television has become commonplace because property owners recognise the need to be in a position to observe criminal acts on their property. Already, there is a decline in such acts on private property. The quality of some of these cameras leave a lot to be desired with the result that the images are virtually useless but the deterrent is already there.
We now come to the bugbear—littering. Two days ago the Mayor and City Council moved about the city to observe conditions ahead of the impending rainy season. The discoveries were shocking to say the least. Plastic, Styrofoam and other garbage not only abounded in the drains and major waterways, they also existed in heaps along roadways.
City Hall may argue that it has garbage trucks plying the streets and that this should allow for people to place their garbage in a container that could be easily removed. This, City Hall may contend, should force people to desist from dumping garbage in any other location. However, people are an unruly lot and have to be conditioned.
In the developed world, the people have been so conditioned to maintain a clean environment that they actually police their neighbourhoods. People take extra care to remove litter from their surroundings. For example, it is a criminal offence for people walking pets to have these defecate on the streets and the poop not picked up.
In Guyana, scant attention is paid to such things. It matters not that a councilor is attached to a ward and must patrol that ward to ensure that whatever problems there are happen to be brought to the attention of the municipality in the shortest possible time. Certainly garbage deposits have not been seen as a problem or the councilors have not been visiting their wards.
The municipal walk about two days ago revealed some horrifying things. Despite the warnings there was a waterway choked with plastic and Styrofoam. Some drains were deliberately blocked and people simply hurled anything into alleyways.
City Hall has begun prosecuting some of the litterbugs. There is confusion over what some say is a municipal court. Whatever the case, some people have been placed before the court. The unfortunate thing is that this may be a passing phase since Guyana is not known to enforce anything. Some actions begin for a time then peter out. We fear that this latest move to curtail littering is just a phase.
However, should it be continued then the city may seen an end to the wanton littering that passes today.

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