The people of Guyana, in particular the residents of Georgetown and those who frequent the city for the purpose of work, will at last breathe a sigh of relief that contractors who collect garbage will resume operations as a result of government’s financial intervention which have rescued City Hall once again.
This should now end all the wild speculations that the government is playing politics with the garbage problem in the city. These speculations persist despite the fact that the government several times in the past intervened when similar garbage crisis occurred. It has now demonstrated once again its willingness and commitment to bring relief to people’s suffering when the designated agency fails to discharge its responsibilities.
But it seems that attacking and criticising the government, even when it does not deserve it, have become a favourite past time of some in our society. Notably these persons never put forward alternatives or constructive ideas to how to overcome existing difficulties or problems.
From what has transpired in the past, as well as in this instance, it is clear that the present administration of City Hall is incapable of effectively managing the affairs of the capital city.
However, now that the dust will be settled somewhat it is imperative that long term solutions to garbage collection and disposal be given priority because with a growing urban population the intensity of the problem will obviously increase.
In fact, garbage disposal is one of the most serious global challenges and throughout the world, in both developed and developing countries, it is increasingly engaging the attention of governments, scientific and technological and environmental organizations and agencies, and the private sector with a view to finding solutions.
The difficulty with developing countries like Guyana is that while there is a continuous increase in garbage there is not a corresponding increase in available resources to deal with the situation. And therefore the problem becomes compounded.
In addition to the lack of resources, most developing countries have an acute problem with the attitude of people towards garbage disposal. In our country this is contributing heavily to the garbage problem which is having adverse effects on our drainage system, health and environment.
Attitudinal problems in many cases are even more difficult to crack than a lack of resources, especially when they become ingrained and are almost like a culture.
One of the grave concerns in the world today is the harmful effects of improper garbage disposal on the natural environment. Axel Bojanowski in his excellent article Global Ocean Protection Measures Have Failed notes:
“Thousands of tons of trash are thrown into the sea each year, endangering humans and wildlife. A classified German government report obtained by SPIEGEL ONLINE indicates that efforts by the United Nations and the European Union to clean up our oceans have failed entirely.”
“Since the world’s oceans are so massive, few people seem to have a problem with dumping waste into them. But plastics degrade at very a slow rate, and huge amounts of them are sloshing around in our oceans. Wildlife consumes small pieces causing many of them to die, since the plastics are full of poisons. And, as experts warn, we’ve reached a point where it’s even getting dangerous for humans to consume seafood.”
“Birds often have a hard time distinguishing between little pieces of plastic and food. According to a study conducted in 2002, 80 percent of the birds examined along the North Sea had plastic particles in their mouths. Likewise, researchers at the Research and Technology Center Westcoast based in the northwestern German town of Büsum have recently determined that almost all (93 percent) diving birds on the North Sea have pieces of plastic in their stomachs.”
It is therefore imperative that we in Guyana examine the issue of garbage disposal in a comprehensive manner with a view to arriving at a long term solution which is both environmentally friendly and deals with the horrible attitude which many Guyanese have with respect to garbage disposal.