Use Skip Bins, Public Urged
Members of the public have been urged to use skip bins placed in parts of the country and not to leave their household rubbish on roadsides or litter indiscriminately.
The comment has come from the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Local Government, Housing and Environment, Joshua Wycliffe.
This is after the Fiji Sun sought comments from Mr Wycliffe in the wake of complaints from residents of several Nasinu suburbs about littering on roadsides.
Mr Wycliffe said such skip bins provided an intervention for the public to involve themselves in promoting a clean Fiji.
“This is so our visitors and general citizenry will not just benefit, but also appreciate cleanliness,” he said.
“More than a million dollars has been allocated in the Government’s National Budget to beautify cities,”
Mr Wycliffe said these recycle bins would raise awareness, responsibility and accountability in the minds of Fijian citizens.
Earlier, some residents of Nasinu expressed concerned at the increase in the number of rubbish piles outside their homes and compounds.
A Fiji Sun News team went around visiting places yesterday and spotted people are still throwing rubbish along the roadsides, creating a mess. The rubbish varied from household types to white goods such as washing machines and refrigerators that were no longer usable or rusting.
A resident of Omkaar Road in Nasinu who did not wish to be named said the rubbish piles in the area were a daily occurrence.
She said the town council collected the rubbish on almost a daily basis in some suburbs, but people kept throwing rubbish along the roadside and not in bins provided by the council.
“We have witnesses and also have reported to the town council that some people drive down the road at night and throw their garbage out on the road,” the resident said. “Many times I have picked up the rubbish bags and put them in the nearby bins provided by the town council, but people failed to do it themselves.
“Sometimes people throw rubbish bags which give a foul smell.
“We have told town council workers who collect the rubbish to put some notices and also requested to the town council to provide more bins in the neighbourhood because of its big population.
“Many times my children and I have to ensure that our driveway to the house is clean because people pile the rubbish outside our compound, which blocks the driveway as well,” she said.
Another resident, Kamlesh Chand of Navosai, Narere, Nasinu, said the rubbish bins provided by the town council were not enough because they filled up quite quickly. “People have even thrown bags of rubbish near the shopping complex opposite the police post at Navosai,” he said.
“The rubbish piles have been found in many places around the neighbourhood and it is just heart-breaking to see that people cannot throw their rubbish in the bins provided by the town councils.
“We all should take initiative to work with the Government and keep our environment clean from our homes to neighbourhood and our country,” Mr Chand said. Comments have been sought from the Nasinu Town Council.