900 garbage bins to be distributed to minibuses

In an effort to curb garbage being dumped unwarrantedly in the environment, the United Minibus Union (UMU) has teamed up with the Communities Ministry to distribute 900 waste bins to bus drivers of 13 routes by August month-end.
On Saturday, UMU President Eon Andrews told Guyana Times that the donation of the bins was made possible through negotiation with the Communities Ministry subsequent to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the parties last month.
“We are of the view that if Guyana does not up its standards, like having these bins in buses, we will be left behind, because remember tourism is increasing and there is first oil, so there is a lot of persons who may be here who are accustomed to a standard of living, especially in public transportation where you need to accommodate people,” he said.
The UMU Head further explained that the bin distribution was not only because of the expected increase in tourism.
“It’s not just because people are coming, we believe that Guyanese need to up their standards, up their living standards, the way they behave. You know this idea of just taking life for granted and just throwing things through windows.”
He noted that a record was being kept of the buses which would have received the bins, so as to ensure accountability and transparency in the distribution process.
In addition to this, Andrews said that the drivers receiving bins would be tasked with the responsibility of informing passengers that a garbage bin was present in the minibus, so that they could make use of it.
On Friday, at least 105 bins were distributed to drivers in the Industry, Beterverwagting (BV) and Mahaica to Georgetown zones.
The Union President has since vowed to ensure that the remaining zones receive the much-needed bins within a three-week period.
According to him, both members and non-members of the Union will receive the bins.
Andrews explained that the MoU signed between the Communities Ministry and the Union was undertaken to bring about a change of behaviour in the public towards the management of solid waste, through public awareness and community development activities.
He nevertheless said that the Union would try as much as possible to monitor the usage of the bins in the minibuses.