Kingston Harbour continues to be impacted by solid waste problems. Overtime garbage from gullies flows into the major water body affecting marine life and overall public health. Many are concerned about the issue which appears to be worsening and participated in a recent cleanup.
“People fi no littering the beach man. The beach fi keep clean all the while. That fi stop,” said Dwayne, a concerned resident says. ” When mi see them a come mi tell them fi carry back the rubbish whe them a carry it from you nuh.”
A Maritime lawyer was also at the beach cleanup and shared, “the pollution as you see is horrible. People who come and litter should have civic pride. You go other parts of the world they don’t have such nice harbour, such nice places to come and enjoy the natural beauty of there country. We have it yet we are littering the place.”
Another concern is the public health risk with children frequenting the area and playing near murky water.
Government Senator and Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of National Security, Matthew Samuda was also at the clean up. While numerous initiatives geared towards the ban on plastics may have alleviated some of the inflow, he admits that beach clean ups are not the total answer to the garbage problem.
“We have to take the next step and look at where the drains are, where the communities are that are having the issue either with collection or in desperate need of behavioural change,” said Samuda. “We have to go in to those places and deal with the rest of the debris.”
Despite this plan in place, there are still concerns about when it will be put into action and whether residents prone to dispose of waste in gullies, will cease from the practice.
