Letter of the Day | Discipline a bigger problem than plastics

THE EDITOR, Sir:

Will the ban on plastics, as the Government sees it, succeed?

That plastics (bags, bottles and other (items) continue to be so ubiquitous on our landscapes is certainly not the fault of these items but the fault of humans, including households, businessmen, the infrequent garbage collecting schedules by the relevant government agency and inefficient clearance of the garbage. I live on a street, one mile from the main road. Garbage trucks have never been on my street, yet the first thing we've done is to ensure that there is absolutely no garbage on our premises or within the wider vicinity - and they are not dumped on other people's properties, either. Second, at home, we took the decision many years ago to separate our garbage by having specific bins for biodegradables and non-biodegradables. The non-biodegradables are collected in the multi-use bags brought from the stores (we couldn't afford to purchase garbage bags and in any event, they are too odious for our purpose).

DISCIPLINARY PROBLEM

The point that I'm trying to make is that (once again) the Government is trying to implement a regime that is not properly thought through; we don't have a plastic problem per se; what we have is a disciplinary one - both at the level of the man in the street and at the level of Government. In the same way that it took months to separate garbage in my household, it suits the Government to realise that a sustained effort to change people's bad habits will take time.

So what is really needed is a campaign to make people more aware of, and responsible for, the way they treat with the environment. So, having dealt with the plastic bags and plastic straws, when will the other garbage items clogging the drains be dealt with - the plastic bottles, pampers, wipes and discarded electronic items, the plastic and styrofoam packaging materials that come with microwave ovens, TV sets and refrigerators. What is the plan to deal with these types of waste as seen at so many of our once-beautiful beaches such as Priori in St Ann or across from the civic centre in Port Maria?

No doubt, I'm in full support of proper waste management, but the strategies must make sense for them to work. Those lame ads on television asking people to cooperate will not cut it either. The campaign needs to effectively touch schools, public passenger vehicles, businesses, and most of all, the Government. The strategy of the latter should include adequate numbers of garbage receptacles in our townships, and regular and proper emptying of these receptacles by the National Solid Waste Management Authority. At the same time, these efforts should include maintenance of our gullies and verges all year round, and not a one-off activity

for certain parts of some communities. A properly maintained landscape is a motivation to keep the environment garbage-free. If we are to become First-World any time soon, we might as well begin now.

a'Lerroy Brown