THERE have been several national campaigns targeting the wanton dumping of garbage by Guyanese but the problem remains.

There was, for instance, an admirable ‘Nice Up Guyana’ drive that included the private sector and several communities but which did not achieve its goals.

Then came the 2005 disastrous floods which starkly exposed the consequences of people clogging up canals and drains with all kinds of garbage imaginable.

While record heavy rains spawned those floods, a prime reason for water remaining on the land for many days were secondary and tertiary drains choked with garbage, including discarded shells of vehicles, old stoves and refrigerators.

Then there was the clean-up thrust for the 2007 World Cup Cricket matches that Guyana hosted with the catchy slogan ‘Lash it in de bin, Cricket comin’ on bumper stickers.

People cleaned up and painted homes and fences but the glitter didn’t last long.

And there have been sporadic anti-litter campaigns with the City Constabulary in Georgetown at one time nabbing people caught discarding garbage on the streets and hauling them before the courts. Some were even charged for dropping peanut peelings and candy wrappers on the streets.

But, like with the increasing of pound fees accompanying a promised crackdown last year on animals roaming highways, city streets and other roads around the country, these have all come to naught.

People are dumping garbage without care in the capital city and in many other parts of the country.

The pervasive fast food culture, with its Styrofoam boxes and other containers and plastic bags and bottles, has contributed in no small measure to the problem.

People eat, drink and dump – even on the roads from minibuses and other vehicles. They do it because they know they can get away with it.

Catch a few of the culprits, clap them with some stiff fines and plaster their faces on TV and in the newspapers and see how fast they will comply.

What is needed is a sustained campaign against litterbugs involving stiffer implementation of existing laws backed by a comprehensive national education programme.

Organised garbage collection is non-existent or irregular in several of the growing housing schemes around the country and residents say they have no alternative but to dump garbage in empty plots, on the sides of roads or in canals and this is a matter that has to be addressed by the Regional Democratic Councils and the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils.

Organising garbage collection cannot be left to whims and fancies in a modern society and this must be an integral part of the annual budget planning in the city, towns and villages.

The private sector, non-governmental organisations, civil society and other stakeholders also have a prime role in getting the message over.

Garbage dumping carries harsh penalties in several Caribbean countries and in other parts of the world and unless people here face similar consequences, they will not change their dirty ways.