Dillon: Fines for littering should go up

Point Fortin MP Edmund Dillion has suggested that a curbside recycling initiative should go hand in hand with increased fines for littering if the population’s “don’t care” attitude to the environment is to be changed.

He was speaking to reporters Tuesday after the launch of the Point Fortin Borough Corporation’s curbside recycling programme at its George Street, Point Fortin administrative offices.

“We have a way in which, if you go around some places, people throw garbage all over the place – whether it is a fete, whatever it is, they throw it on the ground. That is a culture, that is a behaviour, a kind of don’t-care attitude.

“But if you feel this place belongs to us, we care about this place, about where we live, what we do, the nwe will take proper care to maintain the environment. We as citizens must be responsible first of all for the cleanliness of our own area and the community in which we live.”

Asked whether increased fines for littering would be part of the recycling programme. Dillion said, “It must, it must. There must be some kind of enforcement measures. You see, behaviours don’t change like that. There must be some kind of enforcement so that people who continue to go against this initiative – there must be some kind of regulation or some law brought to bear on them.”

He said while Point Fortin has a reputation of being among the cleanest areas in TT, the curbside programme was another way of engineering change in the way people viewed the disposal of garbage.

“A country or an area is, to a large extent, first impression. That is what gets people to feel comfortable. When you drive into Point Fortin, most visitors will get a sense of its cleanliness, because we boast that Point Fortin is one of the cleanest borough that you can find in TT.

“Most importantly, if we can get that attitude to start from the homes, what we say, from source, so from home you start to recycle your garbage –let’s say three different bins: one for glass, one for plastics and one for paper – the source, it is then easier to separate when you do the recycle, as opposed to have them mixed up at home and then you have to separate them at some point.”

He said developed countries such as the US and Canada not only practise recycling at the home but have also introduced fines for improperly placing plastics or glass in plastic bags.

Point Fortin mayor Abdon Mason also welcomed the initiative, saying while garbage is disposable, many of the items were also recyclable.

“As individuals we all have a responsibility to preserve our environment, and part of this initiative includes an education programme. We are the ones responsible for the garbage on the streets and if we have the education to accept the responsibility, it will change.”

He said the corporation planned to educate schools, village councils and community groups to get involved in the initiative.