By Vanessa Cort

MANY years ago, a friend told me that on a visit to Singapore, she discovered that the fine for littering was US$1,000. It is a fine that still stands today and repeat offenders may be charged up to US2,000 and may also be sentenced to ‘Corrective Work Orders’ to pick up trash in public.
As a result of these and other stringent anti-littering regulations, Singapore is recognised internationally for its spotless public spaces. But Singapore is not the only country with harsh fines for littering. In Canada, dropping litter can result in a fine of up to US$1,000 for a first offence.
This can escalate to US5,000 for repeat offenders, who may also be required to attend anti-littering lectures or take part in compulsory community service.
Closer to home, in Trinidad and Tobago, a person can be charged up to US$1,000 for general littering, while the dumping of hazardous materials can result in significantly higher fines and up to five years in prison.
In Guyana, we too have anti-littering fines of G$5,000 for individuals and G$100,000 for companies. Under the Litter Prevention Regulations, littering from a vehicle or on someone else’s property carries stricter penalties. However, the extent to which these fines are effective in preventing littering rests primarily on their enforcement.
Recently, Attorney-General Anil Nandlall referred to Guyana’s comprehensive anti-littering regulations, noting that they have not been “operationalised”, something which needs to be addressed. He also announced a government clampdown on littering that may include stricter penalties and mandatory community service.
These moves need to be supported by additional measures designed to ensure our communities are kept litter-free and that citizens develop the kind of civic pride that makes people want to keep their surroundings clean and attractive.
One regularly stated complaint from the public is the lack of garbage disposal receptacles in and around the city. If there are no refuse bins, then people will simply be inclined to drop their litter on the ground.
And this raises the issue of changing the mindset of citizens towards littering by devising campaigns to better educate them about the ills of dumping their garbage in public places. Countries around the world have employed varied measures to combat the problem and these include strict enforcement of anti-littering legislation along with comprehensive waste management policies, financial incentives and civic education programmes.

An AI overview states that in its waste management policy, India enforces Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), “shifting the burden of collecting and recycling packaging waste directly onto manufacturers rather than solely on municipalities.” Such a move here would certainly ease the overburdened Mayor and City Council and other municipalities and make manufacturers, as well as others generating waste, more accountable for its proper disposal.
In countries like Germany and the Netherlands, consumers pay a small refundable deposit on plastic bottles and cans, drastically reducing roadside waste and driving up recycling rates to over 95 per cent.
And reportedly some of the best litter prevention campaigns in the world were run in England, Scotland and Texas with slogans like ‘Scotland is Stunning – Let’s Keep it that way’ or ‘Don’t mess with Texas’ and ‘Love Essex’. All of these programmes united communities to tackle their litter problems, encouraged civic pride and enjoyed the support of all stakeholders.
A report on the campaign in Scotland, that surely holds true for all countries, stated that, “Part of the progress towards tackling the littering issue was to reinvigorate people’s feeling of positivity about our environment so that in the right moments they’d make smarter decisions about littering.”
I can attest to feeling this way in England, where I grew up and began putting my used wrappers in an available bag or in my handbag, waiting until I got home to dispose of them if I did not see a public garbage bin. It is a mindset that is so deeply ingrained that I do the same in Guyana, where I now live once more.
There is undoubtedly a dire need for a comprehensive anti-littering campaign in this country and a return to the civic pride that once earned Georgetown the much-respected title of Garden City.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.