Litterbugs who insist on indiscriminately dumping trash on the side of the road can learn an important lesson about cleanliness from an American visitor who despite being on vacation took the time to pick up garbage yesterday that was thrown alongside Seahorse Road.
Eric Commer, an attorney from Kansas who is staying at the Westin at Our Lucaya, said he was taking a walk on Seahorse Road when he noticed litter along its grassy areas. He later found a plastic bag with a store logo on it and began picking up the litter.
Mr. Commer, who believes any environment should look nice, said he is on his second visit to Grand Bahama with his wife, Jeame Commer, and they are enjoying the moment because it is becoming the most relaxing vacation they have ever had.
“When I set out to walk I had no idea I would be picking up trash,” he said. “And when I saw it, I thought gee, I could make my walk more productive and pick up more trash as I go along. As I walked on further, I just picked up trash until the bag became full.”
He said that even though some of the trash he picked up was not necessarily something that people threw down, the majority of it was. By the time he was finished picking up, he said the bag contained about half a dozen beer bottles.
In the past, there have been many road signs for residents of Grand Bahama to keep the island clean by not littering. Those that do should be ashamed, particularly in those areas that are frequented by tourist whose first impression of the environment is critical to having them return on other trips.
Mr. Commer’s trash picking experience, however, did not deter him from having a grand time yesterday as he claims that he is still in love with the island, and looks forward to taking more trips here.
“It is place that you would like to recommend to friends because it is close to the U.S. and we had a nice time the last time we were here,” he said. “You know it is just things like that which add to the attractiveness of the place when somebody visits.”
Mr. Commer said the whole time he was walking, he did not notice any trash cans to deposit the bag.
“When I finally had the bag full, I was looking for a place to leave it. The only place I saw was two trash cans in front of the Winn Dixie food store at the shopping plaza on Seahorse Road,” he said. “I did not notice any trash cans at the bus stop, which I think would be a good place to have one.”
He said it would be great if trash bins were placed in the area so that persons taking a walk or driving in their cars would have no excuse for not throwing their trash in them.
By LISA S. KING, Freeport News Reporter
