Bajans urged to keep country clean

The Ministry of Environment and National Beautification is reminding Barbadians that they have an important part to play when it comes to not only beautifying the island but keeping all spaces within it clean.

This message came as the Ministry delivered its second community engagement session on Thursday, at the Oistins Bay Gardens. Representatives of the Ministry as well as workers from the National Conservation Commission (NCC) came out during the evening’s presentation to talk to residents from the surrounding districts on best practices for reducing and recycling their wastes.

Technical Officer in the Project Management Coordination Unit (PMCU), Neil Gilkes told residents and vendors in the area that the unit’s purpose since the late 90s, has been to significantly reduce the amount of solid waste the island produces, which ends up in the landfill.

“The fundamental goal is to reduce the amount of waste we generate, because you can appreciate if you don’t have it and you don’t make it, you don’t have to deal with it. So that is the most optimal option when it comes to dealing with your solid waste. It also has to be modern. No one wants anything that is old. It has to work; modern means it’s working. It has to be dependable. You know when you put your stuff out on the side of the road, you want to know that the garbage truck is going to come…. It also has to be efficient, it has to make sense,” he said.

Gilkes also reminded Barbadians to keep the 4Rs associated with solid waste management in mind – reducing, reusing, recycling and recovering – as each stage has an important part to play in the solid waste management process.

He also reminded that Government has put mechanisms in place for residents to go to the Ministry for assistance in managing their waste output.

“We need you to understand that you are the fundamental stakeholder in this whole process. So we will help you, we won’t say ‘do it’. How else will you sustain this activity? The Ministry will help you, my unit will help. We will help you set up school recycling and community programmes. It’s not complicated. You all are smart but, more importantly, there is nothing wrong with understanding you need help to do something, and the resources are there,” he promised.

Minister of the Environment and National Beautification Adrian Forde said it was time for Barbadians to get on board the initiative.

“All we are asking the entire of Barbados to do, is to come and partner with us, because in the same way that partnership is an important cog of sustainable development, so too is the planet. How we treat the planet will determine our very existence and our future,” he said.