Refuse collection at all-time low
THE STATE of the environment, in particular garbage collection . . . has reached an all-time low. Some areas still have the luxury of garbage collection twice a week, but in others it is a weekly headache.
Barbados is for Barbadians firstly, but visitors to our shores are complaining about the state of this country and the putrid stenches which emanate in some areas.
Minister of the Environment Dr Denis Lowe displayed the apex of arrogance when he stated [some time back] that “we did not give him a job and that we can talk till the cows come home”. He is occupying his ministry overtime! In the fullness of time he can and will be removed. What are your seminal achievements after your stints at Social Care and now the critical Ministry of the Environment?
What was the purpose of the solid waste tax and now the tipping fee? Are these desperation impositions? Any rational Barbadian would have thought that these are to assist in the improvement of garbage collection and the upkeep of the environment, but this does not appear to be the case. Twenty-seven trucks serving the whole country and some of these have been around for decades.
Sometimes one is tempted to congratulate the sanitation workers when they come around.
The White Hill saga manifested the neglect of certain areas of this country, especially where poor Barbadians reside. It is true that littering is an attitudinal problem, where many Barbadians are unaware of the symbiotic relationship which exists between man and the environment, but after being galled by these impositions, we deserve better.
The new tipping fee will only mean that many Bajans will use shortcuts. Instead of the dump, the gullies and other convenient sites will become our dumping grounds. It was shocking after Errol Barrow Day near Browne’s Beach to see almost six-foot-high piles of garbage.
The people need to change their habits. In the 21st century we have not been able as yet to establish a system in which households sort their garbage, at least not on a universal scale. Moreover, with the unpredictability of the collection service, many are unaware or do not know when the next visitation of the sanitation workers will occur.
This is the 21st century and it is time that we come out of the Dark Ages. Sorting of garbage has been a practice in the United Kingdom for almost or over 50 years. What prevents Barbadians from being sensible and sensitive?
We have pride but no industry and the slide will continue. We are in an abysmal mess.
Minister Lowe, do the honourable thing and resign!
– CHARLES HOLDER