Statistics will show that tourist arrivals in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are increasing. Tourism contributes to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and creates employment for a lot of Vincentians. Although tourist arrivals are increasing, littering can deter a lot of tourists from returning to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Hence, we must take littering seriously.
For some Vincentians, littering is a “hobby”. The hotspots that tourists and locals love to visit such as the beach, rivers, parks, and forest. The presence of littering can be seen. Garbage being left on the beach and in the rivers destroys marine life. In the forest, wildlife can mistake pieces of garbage for food, which can block their digestive systems, causing them to die. During heavy rains, looking at the rivers and coastlines would reveal the true extent of the littering problem.
Littering makes the environment very unsightly and it creates a habitat for rats, flies, cockroaches and mosquitoes. Garbage being dumped into gutters causes flooding which also is a habitat for mosquitoes. Recently, we had an outbreak of mosquito- borne diseases and leptospirosis. Is littering the reason why we are having mosquito-borne diseases and leptospirosis? Driving or walking through Kingstown and in the various communities, the first item to greet you is “littering”. In Kingstown, some garbage bins have been placed around the city. Although some garbage bins are around the city, a lot of people litter in the gutters and on the streets.
In some communities, garbage can be seen on vacant lands and in the road. For example, outside of the Diamond Landfill, there is a piece of crown land. This land is filled with tree logs and various types of garbage. The area is a residential area and I am amazed that workers from the Diamond Landfill are passing all this garbage every day and have not made any provisions to remove these items. We cannot have a litter act on paper and we are not enforcing it and allowing some Vincentians to destroy our environment and tourism product.
The Litter Act of St. Vincent and the Grenadines enacted in 1991, is a legislation designed to control and penalized littering, making it an offense to deposit litter in public places or on private property without consent, with fines up to EC $5,000 and potential imprisonment for violations.
I would strongly recommend the Public Health Department, Central Water and Sewerage Authority, and the police force collaborate to enforce the litter act. The government can set up more cameras across the country to help catch the perpetrators who are littering. No littering signs can be placed in various communities to let persons know that it is illegal to litter and that they can be charged a fee if they are caught littering. There must also be on going educational programs about littering. If we don’t protect our tourism product and the environment, who will?