EASTER was nice, Easter was ‘lit’, yeah? What I can’t wrap my head around, however, is the garbage situation that remained after Easter.

For a few days after Easter, you could pass by the seawall- from Kingston all the way to Ogle- and you would see that the attractive green spaces were covered with garbage. Plastic bottles, food packets, and even kites were just discarded on the very spaces that were filled with people on Easter Sunday and Monday. And this wasn’t an isolated event; you would have found litter in Georgetown, at all of the kite-flying ‘hotspots’.

Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine took to his Facebook page to speak out against this. At the seawall area in Kitty and Kingston, he indicated that skip bins were provided so that persons would discard their refuse. Photos taken on Tuesday showed that not only were these bins unused, but there was litter around the bins. How audacious, irresponsible and downright disgusting?

Maybe (not really) it would be easier for me to understand the situation had there been no bins provided. These bins were provided, however, and yet individuals chose to litter.

Compounding this situation was that the Mayor posited that each individual has a role to play in the proper disposal of garbage. But lo and behold, there was a litany of Facebook users commenting otherwise. It is beyond me how some persons would justify littering by saying “That’s not my problem, is City Hall job to clean up”. This logic is truly beyond me.

I cannot overemphasise that littering is a problem that is created by individual actions and individuals are responsible for disposing of their own garbage responsibly. If you use it, why can’t you dispose of it in a proper manner? Why can’t you use the waste receptacles provided? And even if they weren’t, why is it difficult to keep your garbage until you find somewhere to dispose of it?

And what’s even worse for me was that on Tuesday, persons occupied these very spaces to continue their Easter Kite flying and made a mess on top of the existing mess. Apparently, it couldn’t get worse, right?

I find it quite ironic that World Earth Day was observed on Easter Monday, and this situation ensued because of the Easter day activities. I mean I personally think that the significance of World Earth Day is one that should be remembered every day, but on the actual observance, the focus is on raising environmental awareness as part of efforts to protect the planet.

And in protecting our environment, we each have a role to play. It’s the simple things like disposing of garbage properly that go a far way. The stories of garbage, especially plastics, getting into the waterways and affecting marine life are well-known. Just think about the fish and how they struggle to survive with all that trash thrown into their homes.

But also know that this improper disposal of garbage impacts us as humans in a great way. In Guyana, we are susceptible to flooding on the coastland; imagine how we exacerbate that by filling our waterways with trash. And this isn’t a new fact, this is something we know! It is no coincidence that when the rainy season comes we ‘hustle’ to clean the drains and waterways.

Think about the health implications too. The garbage and garbage piles become breeding grounds for harmful disease-carrying organisms. This improper disposal of garbage could be the reason why someone contracts some vector-borne disease or alike.

Knowing these things is practically elementary, so why do we continue to litter? And need I remind that under the laws of Guyana, littering is unlawful and carries a fine of $10,000?

I would, personally, like to see greater policing and enforcement so that persons who litter face the consequences of their actions. Maybe then, persons would understand how grave littering can be and do their part in keeping their surroundings clean.

As individuals, we have to ensure that we take care of our environment, because it is a reflection of us and because it is just the right thing to do. We can call for more bins and better garbage collection services, but it has to start with us as citizens making the conscious effort to dispose of our garbage properly. I don’t think that’s hard to do.