More action, less talk to eliminate our rubbish problem
We have talked long enough about illegal dumping of rubbish and the negative impact it is having on our environment and image. Last year, this newspaper launched an awareness campaign, exposing the way some of us are trashing our country.
Many people responded and improvements were noticed. The awareness was heightened by our success in the COP23 summit in Bonn, Germany. But we seemed to have slipped back.
The second campaign to clean up Colo-i-Suva, an ecotourism icon in Suva, has exposed that illegal dumping of rubbish in that area is still going on. This is unacceptable and shameful behaviour and the relevant authorities must take the necessary action to stop it. The time for talking is over. People must know that it is against the law to throw rubbish indiscriminately. They will only realise its seriousness if offenders are prosecuted and penalised. Otherwise, we will continue to see this disgraceful conduct.
People who do it are selfish, irresponsible and have no pride in our country. They need to understand that rubbish, particularly the non-biodegradable like plastics, will end up in our waterways to block drains, cause flooding and pollute our rivers, streams and ocean, endangering marine life that we rely on for our food source and economic livelihood.
We will not eliminate this rubbish problem if only some people campaign against illegal dumping. It requires most if not all of us to raise our voices and spring into action to highlight that we have a major problem on our hands.
We are now well into the New Year and let’s hope that in the coming months we can see a significant shift in attitude towards keeping our environment clean.
Obviously, it has got to start from home in our individual families. Our children must be taught to support anti-litter laws. That means putting plastic wrappings in proper bins and not at the roadsides or thrown out from moving vehicles.
We need to change our mentality and accept the fact that if we don’t we will lose more through the damage done to our environment.
There is enough collective wisdom among us to realise that we have to do something to preserve our environment and secure our future and our children’s future.
We do not need to be compelled by the force of the law to comply with its provisions. We do it because we love our country and our people. But if we don’t, then the law is our only hope. It must be enforced to stop this scourge on our nation.