Let’s keep Carnival waste from drains

File photo
File photo

THE EDITOR: Following last year’s floods I contacted a few environmental and recycling organisations, through social media, to ask what could be done about the many plastic bottles that were then (generously) pouring into the affected areas to bring relief.

Those floods shone a spotlight on the issue of how badly-disposed waste can exacerbate a disastrous event. There was also the issue of the many Styrofoam food containers used to get meals to the affected as well. I got no responses when I raised these issues.

So even as we were all focused on the issue of plastic waste that had clogged waterways, and as videos of that problem were going viral, there seemed to be a disconnect. It seems that nothing was in place to collect the new waste, which I imagined could possibly have been discarded right back into the flood waters to end up in the drains.

As the two big days of Carnival approaches I wonder what is being done to prevent the huge amounts of bottles and other containers from ending up in the drains and landfills.

Some years ago as a masquerader in a band, I rounded a corner on to Tragarete Road to the sight of mounds of plastic bottles on either side of the road left by the previous bands. I was appalled.

Again, there seems to be that disconnect in the population between what we know about plastics being harmful to the environment and the way we have always done things.

The population now more clearly understands that bottles and containers can clog drains and rivers. A lot of us also now understand that plastics that make their way into the ocean kill birds and poison fish. Yet, Trinidadians still cannot come to terms with the tremendous waste that is generated at this time – which happens every year right in front our eyes.

Let’s try some math: if in one band of 3,000 masqueraders each of them drinks two bottles of water on Carnival Monday, that is 6,000 bottles to be discarded, and most of that will be discarded at the side of the road. Then factor in the soda bottles, plastic and Styrofoam cups, food containers and snack wrappers they will discard too.

With hundreds of thousands of masqueraders and spectators consuming food and drink for those two days and with most of us being forced to litter because garbage bins quickly overflow, we can see what a disaster we create every year.

Can we address this disconnect? Can we encourage responsible disposal and recycling at fetes? Can we ask manufacturers and sellers of these products together with the bandleaders and the city to work together to break this cycle?

MAURICE HALFHIDE

Cocorite

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"Let’s keep Carnival waste from drains"

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