Many Bahamians litter as a result of their upbringing, it was claimed yesterday.
Executive co-ordinator of the Bahamas National Pride Association Peter Brown said New Providence is not as clean as it should be because Bahamians take their environment for granted.
“The way we treat our environment is basically how we have been reared. We take it for granted – its someone else’s job to clean it up, to maintain it. Its not our job; so we trash it by throwing out bottles, cans, papers, et cetera,” he said.
Mr Brown said Keep America Beautiful- an organisation specialising in the determination of how littered a city is – surveyed a section of New Providence five years ago.
Since it is believed that the situation has not changed, the group has not been invited to do another survey, Mr Brown says.
“It is supposed to be done on a regular basis to show how a city is improving, but if there is no improvement, then why do it?
“If you drive around town long enough, you will see people throwing cans and bottles out of their cars. They don’t see that as being a problem,” he said.
Despite this, Mr Brown is still optimistic.
“We have our work cut for us, but I think that we are going to get there eventually, but there are a couple of things that we need to do before we get there,” he says.
The NPA needs more funding if it is to run more programmes that will educate and encourage Bahamians to treat their environment better, he said.
“We depend almost entirely on donations from publicly spirited persons or sponsors. We get a stipend from government – a very humble stipend. This building is leased from government, government pays most of the utilities; and government pays myself and the staff that I have here,” Mr Brown said.
The association works with community groups, answering questions and lending moral support. Sometimes groups hold meetings at the association’s office where they are offered light refreshments.
But Mr Brown says the NPA would do more if it had the funds.
Source: The Tribune
