To decrease the amount of indiscriminate dumping in certain areas of Freeport, the Environmental Department of the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) is encouraging residents to take advantage of a special service conducted by Sanitation Services to pick up bulk waste from their surroundings.
GBPA Environmental Man-ager Nakira Wilchcombe said even though there is no available place on Grand Bahama where individuals can place discarded appliances and other items without paying, there is a service offered by the GBPA whereby residents can have their bulk waste picked up at no additional cost because it is included in their service charges. But, only if you call them to collect the items.
Speaking to members of the Rotary Club of Freeport during their weekly meeting at Ruby Swiss yesterday, Wilchcombe said the need to advise residents on such issues falls in line with an aggressive campaign launch-ed by the GBPA to “Keep Grand Bahama Clean.”
Details of the campaign were announced at a press conference last Friday at the Port Authority, where Keep Grand Bahama Clean committee members along with their partners ﾖ Department of Environmental Health Services, Urban Renewal Programme, Local Govern-ment and Sanitation Services ﾖ presented activities planned for the month of October to keep the environment clean.
“So if you were to call them (Sanitation Services), they by right and duty should come to any particular residence and pick up the item,” Wilchcombe said. “They are also doing a scheduled routine pick up as well so that residents would know exactly when to put their garbage to the road.”
Wilchcombe said in areas where a private developer is involved, the company developing that subdivision would have to consult with Sanitation Services and the Port Authority on who is responsible for picking up the items.
Wilchcombe said the campaign came about after going around the city and noticing certain issues in their environmental monitoring.
Grand Bahama, she said, is an island that has been blessed with adequate marine resources, including an abundance of fresh ground water, coral reefs, mangrove swamps and wetlands. Regrettably, these pristine attributes of the island have been threatened for many years by air and water pollution, environmental hazards and indiscriminate dumping.
Wilchcombe said some of the major ways in which we can help to sustain a clean environment is practice the three Rs of reduce, reuse and recycle. This includes conserving water in our daily activities.
Another way she said is by being careful what we dump into our water table through our septic systems. Wilch-combe revealed that the Environmental Department of the Port Authority is currently developing a programme to give people an alternative to what they should do with used motor oil.
“This has become a serious problem in Grand Bahama, particularly with the auto mechanic industry. We are looking at ways in which they can have alternative ways to properly dump their battery acid or reuse their oil,” she said.
Wilchcombe said a major problem facing the GBPA in their quest to keep the island clean is the continuous act of indiscriminate dumping. She noted that when driving around, you would not see it on the outer areas of the island.
It is only when you venture into certain inner areas that you get to see the amount of items being indiscriminately dumped, she said. Many of these items, she added, should not be there because they can have an adverse effect on the environment.
“Unfortunately, indiscriminate dumping is not only caused when people have to pay for someone to remove unwanted items,” she said. “In Nassau, where the items are removed for free, you still have the issue of indiscriminate dumping. It is more of a mindset that needs to be changed. We can sit down with Sanitation Services to discuss strategies on how to better deter people from dumping by giving other options.”
The environmental manager said the whole issue of pollution, whether it be through indiscriminate dumping on land or sea, is the main thrust of the campaign.
She said the GBPA is very serious about making people conscious of their activities which may help to pollute the island and what they should or should not do to prevent it.
Wilchcombe noted that a good way to do this is by targeting school-age children, who, once educated about the importance of preserving the environment, will encourage their parents and other adults to do the same.
By LISA S. KING, Freeport News Editor
