Barbados Today

Think of your health and the environment.

That was the urging of former MP, now Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Senator Patrick Todd, as he addressed the Upper House this evening.

Todd told the chamber that across the world there were penalties and fines in place for littering and as a result residents in those countries were a bit more cognisant of their impact on the environment, but in Barbados there was still too much illegal and inconsiderate dumping taking place.

The former MP for the City said the results of such disregard could be seen across Barbados, especially with the collection of water which then led to the breeding of mosquitoes and more concerning the Aedes Egypti mosquito which spread the dengue fever disease. Likewise he said such littering provided food for rodents, breeding grounds for roaches and other insects.

“I encourage Barbadians not to litter,” he said, adding that as a civilised society this was not something people should have to be told and certainly not something that Barbadians should require some foreign consultant or official to advise the island to do.

He advised that care of the environment and the surroundings was a lesson that needed to be taught from the youngest child up as a means of curbing any illegal or indiscriminate littering or dumping.

“I would have been a teacher for many years and I remember when in the Ministry of Education, visiting a school in St. Philip and the children and staff were very proud of the fact that they keep their school clean, the general worker there was very meticulous in keeping the grounds spic-and-span and the children had taken tremendous pride in keeping their school clean.

“If we start with the school children, certainly when they become adults they are less likely to litter, but too many people and not just poor people walking, but even some people in expensive vehicles would dump food containers out of the window.”

Todd said too that Bajans needed to be more mindful of garbage collection hours, thereby reducing opportunities for rodents or stray animals access to rummage or disturb bags out for collection.

“By strategically putting garbage out as close as possible to the times that the SSA trucks will come around will reduce the spread of this litter all over the place, or certainly you should not put the garbage out after the truck has passed.”

He praised the workers of the Sanitation Service Authority whom he said he would see sometimes five or six times a week in the City collecting garbage, sometimes even in the wee hours of the morning or late evenings. (LB)