Environment Minister Urges Personal Responsibility in Tackling Littering Crisis
During the budget debate in parliament yesterday, Environment Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph took a firm stand against the prevalent issue of littering in the country.
Drawing from his recent travels to Dubai and China, the minister highlighted the need for citizens to take personal responsibility for keeping their surroundings clean.
Minister Joseph began by dispelling the notion that St. John’s is inherently dirty, recounting his recent experiences in Beijing, a bustling metropolis with millions of residents.
He emphasized his surprise at the cleanliness of the Chinese capital, where he did not spot a single piece of litter on the ground.
“So you hear on the radio, St. John’s dirty. What the minister doing first of all? Well, I don’t live in St. John, and what is not being said in this country is that paper don’t have legs,” the minister asserted, urging citizens to discard the habit of blaming authorities for the littering issue.
He emphasized that the problem is fundamentally a human one and stressed the importance of individual accountability.
“It is time that we call out the people of this country and say enough is enough. Stop blaming people and authorities for the filth in the city or the filth anywhere. It is a human problem, and individuals must fix it,” Minister Joseph declared.
The minister acknowledged that while littering is against the law, it is crucial for citizens to actively address the issue and not rely solely on legal consequences.
He encouraged fellow parliamentarians to speak out against littering when witnessed, saying, “When you see somebody behaving in that way, Mr. Speaker, you should go up and said shame on you, pick it up.”
Minister Joseph also shared his frustration with the recurring issue of cleaning efforts being nullified by continued littering.
“I drive into St. John every morning, you know, by Robert Hall. That is a beautiful stretch of God, and Mr. Speaker, we clean it today, and tomorrow there’s bottles on the side,” he lamented.
“We will continue to speak about this, so I want to get into some specifics, Mr. Speaker, and for the ACT, I tell you, we did, and they’re not doing their work,” he declared, signaling his commitment to tangible solutions in the ongoing battle against littering in the country.
