Business people desecrate our city with garbage

Dear Editor,
I wish to give support to the campaign by His Worship, the Mayor of the city of Georgetown – Ubraj Narine’s decision to institute a $40,000 fine for persons who throw garbage around and about the city. In addition, I would like to add that it should be $50,000 and $50,000 per day after a notice is served if the garbage is not removed in a day. On or about the third day, the city will remove it and triple the cost of removal!
This would give the Mayor and City Council an opportunity to make some profits; to clear the cost of removal, and at the same time they need to create a fund from the legal fine they collect (from the money they collect) which will go to pay private informers, private freelance detectives who will report on anyone throwing garbage around the city. These persons will receive a reward $2500 to $5000 depending on the level of accuracy of the information and garbage dumped. Once the perpetrators are summoned, they must come in to see a person close to the Mayor’s office. Maybe not in City Hall (because of the level of corruption and deception that is known to exist there).
Further, I would like to volunteer myself as a member of this steering committee to administrate this. Georgetown is a pride and joy for all of Guyana. Whenever one is traversing from the end of Region Six to the end of Region One, most likely they pass through the city of Georgetown. All tourists headed to all businesses in Guyana (even in the Hinterland) wants to see Georgetown. Therefore, Georgetown must be cleaned and kept in a pristine way to display a mature City Hall, a mature Mayor. A mayor not only concerned with the vagaries of the power of office. Our Mayor, His Worship Ubraj Narine, will take a spade, a shovel, a pitchfork, then go in the streets to clean to set an example and inspire. In contrast to those former Mayors who thought it was a position of power, glory and wealth for their ego. In the Bourda Market vicinity, for example, persons, businesses and stores dump tremendous garbage. Stores and businesses need to contract persons privately on their own but by first informing the Mayor and City Council of this, otherwise, they will not get a licence to operate in the City of Georgetown.
There has to be a certain protocol in place to get rid of the garbage in Georgetown. Garbage must not be dumped carelessly or disorderly around and about the city. Card boxes, wooden pallets, wooden boxes and pieces of wood should be tied together, packed and placed neatly in an organised way for the Council and contractor picking them up to send them off to be recycled by the paper recycling company here in Guyana (one of which we have). In view of the oil and gas development and the mineral enrichment that will take place, and money and population coming into the country, we have to prepare ourselves to eliminate this problem of garbage build-up in our country. A three-bin collection system in every home where garbage items are collected and packaged separately for recycling, composting and reusing should be implemented. As what is done in many countries such as in Switzerland, the Netherlands and parts of India. Sweden recycles and sorts its trash so effectively that less than 1 per cent ends up in landfills. Approximately half (47 per cent) of Sweden’s waste is recycled and 52 per cent is used to generate heat. In Hong Kung, the Sai Tso Wan Landfill, after being closed and sealed off with soil in 1981, a multi-purpose playground was created in 2004 powered by wind turbines, solar cells and energy derived from methane generated from the decomposed trash. In India, common plastic litter is transformed into a substitute for bitumen — the main ingredient in asphalt used for road construction. In the country of Uganda, Eco Art Uganda, which is a collection of artists dedicated to promoting environmental awareness was formed. The group created an amusement park for children from discarded materials. Some of the attractions at the Eco Art Amusement Park include recycled swings and life-size board games made from discarded plastic bottles.
Individuals, City Hall, and the Government of Guyana must work together to reverse the trend of alarming levels of garbage filling up the city of Georgetown. We must be patriots of our cities and our country. We must jealously guard our honour and dignity, our city and our country as a people.

Sincerely,
Roshan Khan Sr