I WAS VERY HAPPY tuh read in the papers the other day dat B’s Recycling is going tuh have a new home. B’s is not just a business; it is a very necessary and vital business – one o’ dem kinda businesses dat we need here in Barbados real bad.
I know it had tuh be really hard for the people in St Thomas who lived close tuh dat plant, especially after the fire dat shut down schools, businesses, made people leave duh homes and send evahbody out there scampering fuh cover, not knowing what would happen once the mountain o’ black smoke died down. It had tuh be hard pon all dem people up there in trute but I am more than glad dat duh finally got another place, I hope, away from a residential area tuh operate from and I also hope this time around a lot o’ thought has gone into it fuh the benefit of evahbody.
It must have also been hard enough fuh Mr Bynoe and he family wid the amount o’ licks he was getting from some members o’ the public and especially after what I read in the newspapers about the amount o’ money dat was invested in equipment tuh deal wid the lot o’ evahthing dat people used tuh take tuh the plant daily.
I think I write a little ’bout this a’ready but I also think it is necessary tuh say it again. Dat place used tuh put a good few dollar bills in the pockets of people who made a living outta walking ’bout picking up all kinds o’ bottles, carrying dem up there and collecting a few cents. It also put a stop tuh the nasty habit dat some o’ we Bajan people had of dumping all duh old appliances and anything else dat dem didn’t want at dem all ovah the place.
Sometimes you would be driving gine ’long and you would notice a big-able stove or fridge ’longside the road just so. Or people would just dump all kinds o’ things down inside o’ the gullies, blocking up all the water courses, causing a lot o’ flooding when the rainy season come in. You wouldn’t believe dat in the same way flooding affected me, it affected dem too.
Ya see, dem kinda people so might not see it as affecting dem because dem doan get flood out but dem fuhget dat when people lose duh homes or duh properties get damaged as a result of flooding, the first thing duh does do is call pon the Government tuh do something ’bout it . . . . And there goes the taxpayers’ money in trying tuh undo something dat disgusting people do.
So you see wha’ I mean; having dat kinda recycling place made otherwise unemployed people self-employed as some o’ dem used tuh come ’round in a truck and pick up all the things you wanted tuh dispose of, carry dem back tuh their place, sort dem out and take dem tuh the dump. Dat made life a hell of a lot easier as it prevented people from hoarding a lot o’ unwanted junk ‘round duh place, harbouring all kinds o’ mosquitoes, rats, mice and evahthing else dat wasn’t only hazardous tuh their health but evahbody else’s.
As I said before, I hope dat all would go well this time around wid the planning as Barbados definitely needs this kinda operation.
On another note, ya’all see the lot o’ vegetables and fruit dat dem Barbados Coast Guard soldiers at the HMBS Spring Garden growing and producing? Dem things look real healthy in trute. I hope what the Lieutenant Cordell was saying could materialize and the other places dat have land hanging around and unused would take a leaf outta their book and do something ’bout it. You know how much money dem saving? Dem planting the things dat they need and does use on a daily basis.
Fuh a li’l 2 000 square feet o’ land dem people got real things plant, hear?
I ain’t only talking ’bout the other Defence Force bases; all o’ we could take a leaf outta their book and do things like this tuh help weselves and make life a li’l easier in these hard times.
• Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.
