Litter Wardens taking on litter bugs

May 17, 2014 News

Litter Enforcement Wardens have thus far issued a total of 17 citations and cleanup orders to individuals and businesses within Georgetown.
The Environmental Protection Agency recently recruited 12 Litter Enforcement Wardens and field work commenced Monday last. This move follows a series of public awareness campaigns based on the implementation of the new Litter Enforcement Regulations 2013.
The regulation provides that any individual found guilty of an offence will be liable to a fine of $50,000, while a corporate body will be issued a fine of $100,000.
The Litter Wardens are currently operating in three teams within three zones: Camp Street-Lombard Street- Water Street and Lamaha Street as pilot areas. This initiative is expected to expand within Georgetown and beyond.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Litter Wardens have encountered business owners who illegally dispose of cardboard boxes; hosting illegal dump sites; storing derelict vehicles on Government reserves; construction material blocking drains; and overflowing bins containing many food containers.
During a recent interview with this publication Robert Persaud, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment said that the $1B “clean-up” project outlined in the National Budget 2014 will help finance his Ministry’s initiative.
“This $1B project in this Budget will in fact give more fuel and fire to the effort to help clean up communities,” the Minister said.
The $1B project has been provided for cleanup and environmental enhancement in the rural and urban areas. Of that sum, $500M will be used to clear drains and kokers in Georgetown. Central Government will not just be passing the money over to the City Council. Rather, the city management will play a stakeholder role in which several ministries, including the Ministries of Agriculture, Tourism and Public Works, will also be participating.
Persaud said that while having Litter Wardens and enforcement of the regulations are necessary, other agencies such as City Hall and the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils must be able to collect and dispose of garbage for the project to work effectively.
According to one Litter Warden, the identities of Litter Wardens must remain anonymous to ensure individuals and companies do not recognize them around the communities. They are tasked with inspecting communities to identify litter bugs and for the time being, issue citations and cleanup orders.
It was noted that a day’s work is well documented so in the event there is a legal matter, the Environmental Protection Agency would have sufficient evidence for prosecution.

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