The city’s garbage woes continue

Dear Editor,
I was heartened by the knowledge that the Girl Guides of Guyana with the help of a team from the Girlguiding UK Gold Project recently sensitised patrons and vendors at the Georgetown seawall about their responsibility for the site, which has become a virtual dump (SN, August 10, 2010).

Unfortunately, the state of the seashore and the wall that I encountered the morning after the most recent Sunday night ‘lime’ makes a strong argument that citizens don’t respect their responsibility to either the city or themselves.

The styrofoam food boxes, plastic bottles and cups, the broken pieces of glass bottles and used condoms all told the tale.

Like other residents of the city, I let out a sigh of relief when the waste disposal contractors recently resumed collection. It now occurs to me that notwithstanding City Hall’s feeble attempts to efficiently manage collection and the government’s carefully-timed interventions little will change in the state of the capital until more citizens do their part. There should be no more incentive than a clean environment that we all can enjoy.

In addition to asking our governments (admittedly, a generous description in the case of the city council) to be accountable, we also need to demand accountability of ourselves. It must rest on constant vigilance as well as the willingness to offer reproach and praise where either is deserved. There currently appears to be a failure to appreciate how ensuring the environmental well-being is really the same as ensuring our own well-being. As a result, while the rubbish collectors’ strike may be over, the city’s garbage woes most certainly continue.

Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)