LATEST NEWS:
Environment
Garbage crisis looms
Professor urges behavour change from J'cans
BY LUKE DOUGLAS Environment Watch writer eidtorial@jamaicaobserver.com
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
PROFESSOR in environmental management at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Elizabeth Thomas-Hope is calling for a culture and behaviour change from Jamaica's government, businesses and citizens to offset a crisis in solid waste disposal.
She warns that across the world garbage is piling up faster than it is being properly disposed of, which will result in poisoning of the air and food, and has implications for the survival of earth's species.
 |
| Jamaicans have been urged to take stock of their consumption, given the implications for a garbage crisis. (File photo) |
In Jamaica, she blames Government for misusing funds earmarked for the protection of the environment, ordinary citizens for ignoring requests to properly dispose of and recycle materials, and the business community for marketing products that generate tonnes of waste.
"We have to start thinking about the future, and not just our well-being today," the professor said. "To shift values and attitudes from development being based on modernisation to beyond modernisation is a major task for the future."
Thomas-Hope was delivering the fifth annual Environmental Foundation of Jamaica public lecture at the Hilton Kingston Hotel last Thursday evening on the theme "The Trash Time Bomb: Tackling Jamaica's solid waste challenges".
She noted that as persons incomes grow, they use more products with packaging as well as more disposable items such as electronic appliances and motor vehicles which end up in garbage dumps which have no way of safely disposing of them.
In her lecture, Thomas-Hope, who has written extensively on environmental problems, outlined the changes in consumerism globally and in Jamaica over the last 50 years. She described the relationship between development and the generation of garbage -- more wealthy countries and people generate greater volumes of garbage and also more toxic and non-biodegrable garbage - and that people and governments don't want to spend more on garbage collection and disposal, even though more is being generated.
Kingston's main landfill at Riverton City has undergone much improvement since 2000, Thomas-Hope said, as certain types of waste is being separated, tyres are baled, and there is compacting and composting.
"But despite these improvements, our problems of waste disposal have not been solved, as there are still occurrences of fire and the discharge of odours at the dump," she said.
Government collected $1.2 billion from an environmental levy on imported goods introduced in 2007 but channeled it into the consolidated fund instead of going into waste management the professor noted. She said there was also need for legislation to govern the disposal of hazardous waste.
An effective waste management system must involve the three Rs:
. reducing waste through changes in production and consumerism;
. reusing goods such as textiles, electronics and plastic bags; and
. recycling of waste to produce new products.
This process, Thomas-Hope said, would involve all stakeholders - including those who now make a living by scavenging for materials on the dumps.
"Public education has to be subtle and based on working with those who are already convinced and who will be catalysts for action among those around them," she said.
Other Stories
Russia pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions
Hawaii's famed white sandy beaches shrinking
Global pile of hazardous waste increases
Countries ranked for climate change investments
Australia may have to evacuate coastal areas — report
EFJ presents Earth-Friendly Awards
Hope Gardens undergoes improvement
'There'll be no more dumping in Norbrook'
Jamaica not optimistic for climate deal in December
RSS Feeds