The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment plans to implement a ticket system to deal with delinquent garbage disposers and wants to establish an “environmental court,” according to Minister Robert Persaud.
“…We would be revising and updating new regulations to have wardens out and develop a ticketing system both for individuals and businesses. These wardens would also have the power to issue tickets to offenders… failing to pay the fine one will find themselves before the courts,” the Government Information Agency (GINA) quoted Persaud as saying on Thursday.
The minister was speaking during a press conference at Jenman House, Botanical Gardens and he said that the Board has been actively engaging the judiciary with the aim of having an environmental court established to toughen up the enforcement of delinquent waste disposers.
According to GINA, calls for citizens to dispose of their waste in a responsible manner have fallen on deaf ears and the issue of garbage build-up in and around the city continues, with government looking to alternatives to remedy the situation. GINA reported that the Ministry will team up with the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development to ensure that the stipulated laws are being enforced. So far, GINA said, there is a draft of a law which is currently being finalised at the level of the Board.
Meanwhile, GINA reported that the Ministry’s ‘Pick it up Guyana’ campaign is gaining momentum as Caribbean Containers Inc and the University of Guyana are collaborating in an exercise to recycle disposable waste. Persaud said that the campaign has been successful and they will be collaborating with the Ministry of Education to get the programme into schools. He also chided the Georgetown Mayor and City Council for their complacency as there are noticeable garbage piles across the city, some of which have been there for weeks.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Caribbean Containers Ronald Webster, while lauding the ministry’s campaign, stated that it is necessary as investors’ judgment of a country is oftentimes based on its environment. He said, according to GINA, that the ministry’s initiative is an essential tool for the future development of the country and promised a successful recycling industry as reprocessing is important as it helps conserve resources.
Caribbean Containers will open the recycling industry at Farm, East Bank Demerara and will also be manufacturing cardboard bins while UG will fabricate aluminium bins to take off cans.
