Behaviour of litter bugs irritates those in clean-up drive

‘I am sure nobody leaves rubbish on their couches and sleep on a bed full of styrofoam containers and empty plastic bottles’

About 300 people turned up at My Suva Picnic Park to be part of the Suva Foreshore Clean Up drive. However, many were irked by the human behaviour that has resulted in the litter problem.

The clean-up organised by the Rotary Club of Suva Peninsula was aimed at ridding the litter problem plaguing Suva’s most visited park.

Styrofoam food containers, plastic bottles and single use plastic such as straws, forks and spoons were the most common form of rubbish collected from the shoreline and the mangroves.

There were also diapers and plastic bags.

Suva mum, Pauline Kinisamere, said it was shocking to see people damaging their own environment. “The bins are just there. Have we become so lazy that we are not putting the rubbish in the bin. I wanted to clean up the foreshore because I want a cleaner environment for my children,” she said. Jason Singh, a school student, said people should treat the environment the same way they treated their homes.

“I am sure nobody leaves rubbish on their couches and sleep on a bed full of styrofoam containers and empty plastic bottles,” he said. Suva Peninsula Rotary Club president Prashant Anuraag said as a child he had always wanted to clean the Suva foreshore.

“I grew up looking at a dirty Suva. Seeing so many people today makes me believe that I am not alone in this vision to have a cleaner Suva,” he said.

Suva City Council special administrator chair Isikeli Tikoduadua said the council had employed two full time staff whose task was to pick litter along the foreshore.

“But this should not be the case. This shows that despite the awareness, there are people out there who still throw litter into the ocean and leave it on our beaches,” he said.