Ariapita Avenue litter cleaned up

IN A matter of hours, the heavily littered Ariapita Avenue, in Woodbrook, and surrounding streets were cleared by the Port of Spain City Corporation on Sunday.

In a statement, Rural Development and Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein said clean-up efforts by the corporation resulted in a complete turnaround of littered streets in a matter of hours. The clean-up exercise was finished by 10 am on Sunday. The avenue was the venue for the Pan on the Avenue independence celebration on Saturday.

On Sunday, attorney Larry Lalla posted photographs of discarded plastic cups, food boxes and drink cans which littered the avenue after Independence Day celebrations the night before.

In his post on his Facebook page, Lalla said, “What a beautiful scene to encounter this glorious Sunday morning after we celebrated being an ‘Independent’ nation! A true reflection of where we are right now as a nation. We jamming still!” Hours after Lalla’s post, the avenue was cleared of garbage.

On his Facebook page, the minister also shared photographs of the cleaned streets and told citizens to be “more conscientious of waste disposal, both domestically and in public.”

“Discarded items such as bottles, food containers, product packaging etcetera can make their way into drainage systems, form blockages and contribute to street flooding.

“Additionally, while garbage bins are provided along the street, they are not capable of containing all of the trash that results from street celebrations

“It is imperative that event organisers provide more options for garbage disposal during events. Assistance with clean-up after events will also go a long way in ensuring that our nation’s streets are kept clean and that we can continue to host the best parties in the world,” the minister said.