People, Not Council, to be Blamed!
It is always shocking to see photos of rubbish piled by the roadside. People almost always blame the town councils for not collecting the rubbish and those who live in the area are quick to point a finger. This is also the case with what Fiji Sun highlighted in our Thursday edition.
Some things need to be explained in such cases:
In this particular case in Nausori, the area where rubbish gets piled up is outside the town boundary, so really the council should not cop any flack over it. But, despite the area falling outside the town boundary, the Nausori Town Council has been clearing rubbish from the area. Why? Because unlike those who carelessly discard the rubbish in that particular illegal dumping ground, there are people in the council who have civic pride.
Now, to the most important issue: That rubbish pile did not make its way to the illegal dumping ground by itself.
It was thoughtlessly and carelessly thrown there by people who live in that area. So, why should they be allowed to point a finger at the council and the Ministry of Environment?
People who continue to dump rubbish in that area need to be taken to task. This goes to show that people do not have any civic pride, are ready to dump their rubbish anywhere and they expect the Government and councils to fund the disposal. This is not right.
We will not have such sore sights everywhere if a little bit of common sense is used.
The Nausori Town Council has done more than what it is mandated to do. It has continued to dispose of rubbish, which has often been outside their boundary, but instead of keeping that area clean, we have people who end up throwing more rubbish there.
Perhaps the council should invest in a CCTV to monitor who the culprits are and charge them under our anti-litter laws.