Business View Caribbean - August 2016 83
cia.”
BVM
: Is there anything else you’d like our readers to
know about the SLSWMA?
Auguste:
One of the things that I would like to high-
light is that Saint Lucia, despite not implementing all
the measures that were recommended at the incep-
tion of the OECS waste management initiative, is wor-
ried about the state of the local environment, and in
general the local waste management situation in the
country. Our former Minister responsible for the envi-
ronment was very passionate about that. The effort
at influencing the attitude of the population towards
garbage was something that he wanted us to improve.
Therefore, in the design of the education and public
information programs that we develop, there is need
to look at new and more innovative ways to influence
people and to have them have a more nationalistic atti-
tude towards development in general, and cleanliness
within the country in particular. The organization has
done much work which is well-recognized throughout
the country. There are however, still some who do not
adhere to the arrangements made for waste collec-
tion. Saint Lucia’s economy relies heavily on tourism,
making it necessary to provide a clean and accommo-
dating environment.
The transportation sector in Saint Lucia is developing
at such a rate that the system is presenting a problem
because you often have people throwing stuff out of
moving vehicles. The transport system hasn’t always
accommodated its passengers with garbage collec-
tion receptacles within the vehicles to allow for a more
organized disposal. These are areas that we need to
address. We’ve been doing education and public infor-
mation for a long time, but I think we need to do things
a little differently in the interest of cleanliness. The en-
forcement of the legislation is one of the other areas
where we have lapsed as a country. We lack the neces-
sary regulations to assist with the enforcement of the
law. We need to deploy easier punitive mechanisms
such as the issuance of tickets to dissuade violations
rather than have to depend on a summary convictions
process that requires the intervention of the court as a
rule. Our court system is already very overworked, and
it requires a lengthy period to get heard, particularly
when there are many more serious crimes awaiting at-
tention. Littering may not assume a high priority in the
pecking order of the judicial system.
Lastly, I believe that there are opportunities for a re-
gional approach to waste management, particularly
where it relates to recycling. Economies of scale re-
strict the extent to which our small economies can ac-
commodate separate country initiatives. It is conceiv-
able that the cost of intra-regional transportation and
other border related costs could be the most important
impediments to the feasibility of such collaboration as
has been the case in regional, agricultural marketing
initiatives. This suggests that there should be more
consideration given towards the establishment of a re-
gional transportation system to support such efforts.
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