The state of our surroundings tells a lot about our values

Jan 30, 2012 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Undoubtedly, the most embarrassing environmental challenge facing this City is the indiscriminate dumping of garbage on our parapets and streets. In spite of the City Council’s efforts to keep in line with its garbage collection schedule in all areas of the city, some citizens seem not to be able to help themselves to keep the environment clean.
It is clear that littering has become a way of life for some citizens. This illegal action appears to have spread across all strata of our society.  In “well-to-do-areas” as well as vulnerable local communities, people throw their stuff on parapets, and in canals.
This unfriendly environmental attitude not only disrupts the aesthetics of the city but also facilitates a number of environmental challenges. These include not only the physical nuisances such as breeding places for mosquitoes and flies, aggressive aquatic growth, and the risk of disease but also the psychological stress of actually having to view heaps of refuse in different sections.
Again, illegal dumping has a serious impact on the city treasury.  The Municipality is forced to clean up parapet litter on a daily basis.  But the money it expends on this could be used for other developmental works like road repairs, drainage, maternal and child welfare, and other environmental and public health services.  Illegal dumping is affecting the way Council spends money to do works in Georgetown. Also, illegal dumping is influencing the development of the city because it is likely to receive more attention and resources than other core responsibilities.  It is more visible than others and can affect the image more than our day care service. But this service is critical to our working mothers.  Yet we must spend more on litterbugs at the expense of other critical areas.
What is worrying is that as soon as an area is cleared, citizens just dump their refuse on it without considering the consequence of their action.  So the process goes on and on.
Freshly sanitized areas get dirty as soon as the Council’s workers move to another location and a new gang of men must return to do it all over again. Some of these litterbugs shout the loudest that, “the City Council has done, and is doing nothing to help the city” while they throw their garbage on every open space. It is a most disgraceful situation in our capital. However, the Council is faced with two fundamental challenges:
First, there is the disruption of the rhythm of collection in several areas. Several factors have contributed to this including: the extra distance contractors are required to haul the garbage at the new landfill site, at Haags Bosch, the opening and closing time of that landfill site (7:00hrs to 17:00hrs), an inadequate fleet of collection vehicles working in local communities, and insufficient funds.
The closing time of the site in particular affects the work pattern of the contractors.
As it now stands, if a contractor is caught with a load of garbage in his truck after 17:00hrs, he has to hold it until the next day. It is not necessary for us to mention the implications of this to maintenance and general operation of the vehicle.
Then, too, the closing time coupled with the extra distance make it much more difficult for the contractors to complete their schedules as was done in the past. This could be frustrating to residents who are not sure exactly when the truck will get around to emptying their receptacles.
As a result, some residents illegally dump their garbage or pay horse drawn carts to carry away their rubbish. Such carts are not allowed at the landfill site. Therefore, the garbage is dumped in different corners of the city.
Some time ago, the Council wrote the Ministry of Local Government requesting an extension of the closing time of the site from 17:00hrs to 19:00hrs.
Such an extension would have a positive impact on the collection, disposal and the general solid waste management of the Council.
Second, this situation presents us with an opportunity to evaluate our attitude and actions towards the environment. It encourages us, citizens, to begin to take personal responsibility for the state of our physical surroundings. Cleanliness is really a personal matter and it has to do with the individual perception of the value of the environment.
The state of our surroundings tells a lot about our values. What we have around us is reflective of our personal inner attitude towards the environment in which we dwell and upon which we depend for survival and sustenance.
If we can agree on that, then we must also agree that, we need to take personal action to keep our communities clean. It must begin with the individual. This brings to the fore the need to change the negative behaviour of those citizens who indulge in illegal dumping of rubbish.
A substantial challenge to changing behaviour is the view that the individual contributions to environmental problems are small and inconsequential.
This leads to resistance to change, especially when such change is inconvenient or costly. But environmental injury from illegal dumping of household garbage, dilapidated furniture, plastic bags and bottles, batteries and derelict vehicles into our canals and other waterways can be as severe in the long run as a steady flow of pollution from an industrial or waste water pipe.
Again, changing personal environmental behaviours is challenging particularly in circumstances where messages about conservation behaviours compete with an overwhelming amount of advertisements for consumptive action that promise status and pleasure.
Notwithstanding that, the Council has been using behaviour-changing tools such as public education, shaming and other sanctions, including arresting and prosecuting those who indulge in illegal dumping.
Also, we have been offering, where practicable, technical support and equipment to help groups who engage in cleaning exercises in their areas. But there are inherent weaknesses and particular problems with respect to the application of behaviour- changing tools to individual behaviour.
For example, to institute legal proceedings against litterbugs require a witness, who is willing to testify in court if the person pleads not guilty. Then the procedural arrangement that must be followed in making out a case against the litterbug is time consuming. And sometimes the person who is caught dumping is just the errand boy.
Many years ago, the Council had asked for a Municipal Court to deal specifically with city matters including illegal dumping but we were not successful in attracting enough attention to secure this facility. Also, the Council had proposed the use of the ticket system to treat swiftly with litterbugs.
In the past, citizens were embarrassed to climb the stairs of courts. Nowadays, that embarrassment has all but disappeared and some people see it as ‘no big thing’ to be taken to court for illegal dumping or littering the streets or parapets.
Then there is the challenge of actually sanctioning the really litterbugs. Many people, including big businessmen, paid those who have veered off the normal side of society, to carry away their rubbish. They then dump it anywhere, creating all kinds of problems for the Council and the city. When they are caught, the real litterbugs just carry on with others who are available to dump their garbage.
For 2011, the Constabulary arrested more than 250 litterbugs; the Environmental Health Department served statutory notices to more than 500 residents in different communities for dirty yards and over 150 for absence of refuse receptacles on their premises. Environmental Health Officers and Solid Waste Management Officers have been talking to individual residents in their homes and businesses about the need for proper disposal of waste.
In spite of all of that, people are finding new ways to dump their stuff onto parapets and other thoroughfares. Clearly, then, the current situation goes beyond the ugliness we see in our streets, alleyways and canals.
It is about personal pride and responsibility. Once we understand that then the city will move beyond street and roadside garbage, dirty parapets, blocked drains and the generally embarrassing state of affairs we encounter everyday in Georgetown.
Royston King,
Public Relations Officer

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