Stark Trash Reminder For Suva City
‘The sea is bringing back to us what we as humans have dumped’
Suva residents received a stark reminder of the dangers of polluting our oceans yesterday.
This is after Suva City Council workers were kept busy picking rubbish from Nubukalou Creek in the Central Business District. The rough seas and high winds pushed in the litter, mostly plastic bottles, styrofoam containers and aluminum cans and leaves.
University of the South Pacific student Suraj Singh said the rubbish was dumped in the ocean by people.
“The sea is bringing back to us what we as humans have dumped,” he said.
“This shows the habits of people, especially when having lunch near the Suva sea wall. Some people think the sea is a rubbish bin and when the sea brings it back in people cringe at the sight of it.”
Meli Sauturaga, a retired school teacher and Samabula resident said it was a horrible sight. “Nubukalou Creek was once an icon of Suva City. Just look at it now. This looks like a scene from the documentaries they are showing about water pollution in an overseas nation,” he said.
Plastic and styrofoam containers are the most common form of rubbish in the country.
To effectively reduce the use of plastic bags and styrofoam containers – the use of plastic bags will be banned from next year and from January 2021, the use of styrofoam containers and plastic straws will follow suit.
While SCC is cleaning up the mess, the municipal council has urged people to be mindful of where they throw litter because bins are provided at various points in the city.