Minister of the Environment, Dr. Denis Lowe, addressing the opening of the SSA’S City Depot and Public Bath in Reed Street
Some Bridgetown merchants have been chided for their “unacceptable” treatment of the City as it relates to garbage disposal.
Minister of the Environment, Dr. Denis Lowe, in a strong message to City merchants, today spoke out against the practice of putting out garbage after the scheduled collection, as well as the indiscriminate dumping of cardboard boxes.
He was addressing the official opening of the Sanitation Service Authority’s (SSA’s) City Depot and Public Bath in Reed Street.
“Some business are almost unconscionable in the way they discard their garbage, it is almost as if as long as they are comfortable on the inside that those who have to do the work on the outside do not matter.
“I don’t know what mechanism we will have to use, but if that mechanism includes levying merchants to ensure that they meet the remit of the standards of a sanitary city, then we will have to do something about it. But, it is not acceptable the way that they treat the City,” Dr. Lowe said to rousing applause from SSA workers attending the launch.
Making it clear that he was in no way suggesting that an “antagonistic relationship” be cultivated between the state and store owners, Dr. Lowe continued: “I don’t know if we need some sort of sanitation police – but we need something to ensure that those standards are met. What I am saying is that maintaining our environment and sustaining a clean city have to be a partnership between those who occupy the City for commerce and those who must access it, if only for the pleasure of being in the City.“
For this reason, the Minister said it was necessary for Government to continue to emphasise the importance of holding those persons, who operate commercial ventures in the City of Bridgetown, to a standard that complemented the work of the Sanitation Service Authority.
Dr. Lowe noted that it was not an easy task getting up early in the morning to “clean up after people”, but this, according to him, required a certain kind of civic dedication.
“Those who transit the City must never ever be able to go away and make comments that are distracting from the standard of Barbadian living,” Dr. Lowe maintained.
The new Reed Street facility comprises an ultra-modern public bath, as well as office quarters for a supervisor and two cleaners; a storage facility; locker room and recreation area. In addition to a 24-hour security detail, the facility also has one-truck stationed on site.