UNDER the ‘Clean and Green Guyana’ campaign, the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development in collaboration with Guyenterprise, implemented a pilot school-based solid waste management (SBSWMP) programme in 15 secondary schools in Region 4 (Demerara-Mahaica). Staged at the Georgetown Club on Wednesday with representatives from the participating sectors, students were able to develop a project to deal with the issue of solid waste management in their respective schools. The workshop was one that featured interactive, informal, informative and practical sessions.

Each school was charged with developing an action plan where they brainstormed ideas to identify waste problems. The goals were to provide opportunities to minimise waste discharged from schools along with practicing proper waste disposal. Once the approach would have proven successful, it would be adopted by the Ministry for regional and national adoption.
Also present at the workshop were Deputy Chief Education Officer, Ms. Doodmattie Singh; Guyenterprise’s Mr Oliver Insanally; and Mr. Gordon Gilkes from the Georgetown Solid Waste Management Programme.
In delivering her remarks, Singh reflected on her adolescent days when resources were not readily available for proper solid waste disposal. She noted however that today there is the ‘Clean and Green’ campaign, and that Guyana now has the resources and it is time that citizens utilise them to the fullest.
She urged that schools continue grasping the concept of ‘reduce, recycle and reuse’ to address the solid waste problems they face.
Insanally, a Project Manager of the workshop, illustrated the importance of solid waste management by defining the goals and need for the event via a vivid PowerPoint presentation. He outlined the number of different players in this initiative which included the public and private sectors, consultants, schools and communities.
Additionally, he disclosed that the various collaborators will oversee the performance of each school on a monthly basis as they carry out their projects.
On the other hand, Gilkes highlighted the basics of proper solid waste management and reiterated the points made by the previous speakers.
However, this project when established at the end of the workshop on Friday, will seek to foster partnerships between schools and businesses in which interested businesses provide financial or other support. The establishment of partnerships will therefore help make this initiative sustainable.
The campaign is part of a community participation and public awareness programme being implemented by Guyenterprise that is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank and administered by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. (Shivanie Sugrim)