Dear Editor,
Friday, June 10 will remain a legal landmark in Berbice when a man was convicted at the Albion Magistrate’s Court by Magistrate Mittelholzer and was fined $50,000 or one month’s imprisonment for disposing of garbage in a public place contrary to Regulation 3 of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) (No 7 of 2013). Those present in court were completely shocked because they did not realize that the punishment was this severe for dumping garbage. One newscaster on TV had said that there was no fine for littering ‒ such is the ignorance of this law.
The offender of Kilcoy Village was caught dumping garbage next to the Chesney Cricket Ground at 5 am in the morning. He was subsequently arrested by the police after a complaint was filed by me. It was a tough battle to get this person charged since the police at Albion were not even aware of the EPA Act under which litterbugs could be charged, and I submitted a copy of the Act to the police. However, I must add that the officer-in-charge was very co-operative and gave her full support in order to get the lawbreaker on trial, hence his conviction.
Another serious form of littering is passengers and drivers throwing garbage out of their vehicle windows. It is quite alarming and dangerous to suddenly see some missiles in the form of food boxes, plastic bottles and cups heading in your direction at high speed, or a black plastic bag tinting your windscreen. Sometimes our reflex action will be to attempt to duck which can cause us to lose control. Persons who witness these types of littering should take these vehicle numbers down and file complaints with the police; it is only then that these criminal acts will stop.
I am calling on the Commissioner of Police to ensure that litterbugs are made to pay for their crimes since the billions of dollars expended can be utilized more effectively to foster developmental works. In the same breath I would like the EPA to once again publicize this criminal act in the media. We need to sensitize the public.
Litterbugs must be made to understand that crime does not pay!
Yours faithfully,
Haseef Yusuf
Chairman-Kilcoy/Hampshire NDC
RDC Councillor
