Summer is nearly over but tons of leftovers from private parties are left for all to see on beaches throughout western New Providence.
Frolicking along the beaches in Adelaide and Coral Harbour to hold large parties and functions, scores of Bahamians easily turn these prized resources into their personal dump sites. But residents living a stone’s throw away from these sandy dumpsites say that they are fed up with this “disgusting habit.” The site of mangled Coca Cola cans, stained paper plates and ripped KFC boxes blowing in the wind is more than enough for these west side residents to deal with. For one Coral Harbour resident, living near a beach that has been reluctantly transformed into a dumping ground over time, is like living in “a garbage can.”
“This is more than I can take,” he said. “This has been happening for too long and I think something needs to be done soon. It’s so annoying to go outside and see the amount of filth and trash that people leave here. The sad thing is, it’s right in my backyard.”
He added that on numerous occasions, residents in the area have assumed the responsibility of cleaning up the beaches but days later, piles of trash were once again found there.
This growing trend has quickly spiraled into a major problem which government officials admit is one of their toughest challenges yet. “It is very difficult to get a handle on [curbing the amount of litter left on the beaches] because we don’t know when the parties are being held,” Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Environment, Ron Pinder said. “We are still faced with the challenge of keeping the beaches clean because of unscheduled use of the beaches by private groups who hold very large parties from time to time, often very late at night or very late in the evening.” He added that although government agencies, neighborhood associations and nonprofit organizations pour their hearts and souls into keeping these beaches cleaned, people continue to leave their garbage splattered across the sandy blankets.
This is a claim that Adelaide MP, Michael Halkitis agrees with. According to him, people using the popular Bahamian locations for recreation purposes, seem to have no “care in the world” for the environment. “It’s just a problem with Bahamians; they go on the beach and no matter how much you preach about it, they just leave their garbage right there,” Mr Halkitis said. He added that because these beaches can’t be seen from the road and are in secluded areas, unlike Goodman’s Bay or Saunder’s Beach, people tend to take a “don’t care attitude” when it comes to leaving them clean. Organizations have tirelessly tried to promote clean beaches, he added, but it seems as if no matter what they do, residents living adjacent to beaches are constantly faced with this problem.
According to some residents of these trash-infested areas, summertime urges these litterbugs to rear their ugly heads, turning these beaches into dumping grounds. But Mr Pinder says, “This is not the case at all. The habit of carelessly trashing beaches is ongoing,” he said. “This happens year round but again, it’s private functions that the department would not be aware of. So obviously during the holidays, we would step up our maintenance on all of the public beaches.”
No matter what time of year this “disgusting activity” occurs, residents living in these areas are fed up with locals entering their neighborhoods, having parties and leaving trash-infested surroundings. They say that having to clean up other people’s garbage is becoming a burden that they will soon cast aside. “We just can’t deal with it anymore,” said the Coral Harbour resident. “This has to stop.”
Trekking along the Adelaide and Coral Harbour beaches, one can easily spot the remains of old bottles, cans, papers and even tires. For the time being however, it is clear that the residents of these areas will have to contend with these conditions as litterbugs continue to make their lives “a living hell.”
By: IANTHIA SMITH, The Nassau Guardian
