Urine-filled bottle a worry to rubbish collectors
Concerns have been raised against people peeing into empty bottles and throwing them as rubbish on roadsides.
It is a health hazard and a worry to members of the public, says Pacific Recycling Foundation which revealed that its staff and those from Waste Recyclers Fiji Limited had been collecting urine-filled bottles during their clean-up of Koronivia Road near Nausori Town last week.
Lautoka resident Mark Bole said some people usually used bottles to urinate when they travel on minivans or buses.
“Mostly people are shy to tell the drivers to stop the vehicle.” “I think it is only male who does that and it is not possible for women. Sometimes parents prepare bottles for their children when they travel,” he said.
A commuter, Mereia Vuata said most elderly women use bottles when they knew they could not make it to the washroom on time. “If they visit their relatives or go to any traditional function, they also prepare bottles for standby” she added.
PRF’s founder and CEO of WRFL, Amitesh Deo said massive amounts of recyclables and general rubbish including urine-filled bottles were removed on roadsides and drains.
He said 221.5kg of unsorted recyclables consisting of 15.5kg of PET bottles, 68kg of various types of plastic, and 138kg of general waste were collected by the PRF and WRFL teams in two hours.
“We were shocked to see that people had dumped bags full of diapers, plastic, and glass bottles, wrappers, takeaway boxes, tin and aluminum cans, and sacks full of mussel shells.
“My team was horrified to find some urine-filled bottles on the roadside and drains. This is gross and a violation of our rights to a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment,” said Mr. Deo.
“This behaviour only goes to confirm a great loss of civic pride and a no-care attitude towards the environment. We have to start discussing the need to have more public washroom facilities, especially for the travelling public.”
Today the Recycling on the GO (ROC) Ambassadors Program will be launched at Jasper William High School and Nadi Sangam Primary which will be officiated by the Minister for Education, Aseri Radrodro.