Government is currently exploring several options regarding how it can properly manage its solid waste programme. Minister of the Environment, Dr. Esther Byer-Suckoo, revealed this today after touring B’s Bottle Depot, Cane Garden, St. Thomas, and Ocean Park, Balls Complex, Christ Church.
According to her, this exercise had become necessary since landfill space was becoming limited because of the huge amount of waste generated by householders.
She commended the management of B’s Bottle Deport for “shifting a lot of stuff that is not bio-degradable from our landfill”.
“… those are the kinds of initiative that we want to encourage. Government is also putting some emphasis on innovation that benefits all Barbadians,” the Minister said.
B’s Bottle Depot’s mission is to maximise the diversion of waste from the landfill towards recycling and it collects plastic and glass bottles, cans, metals, vehicle bumpers and discarded batteries.
Meanwhile, Dr. Byer-Suckoo is looking forward to the introduction of the Environmental Management Act, which she said would be very important for Barbados. “We started to review the Act because other environmental issues have come up which would not have been addressed in that original draft. Things like the management of discarded cell phones, batteries, printers and computers.
“We have a lot of new issues to deal with, so we have to make sure that the legislation we bring not only addresses today’s issues, but looks ahead. Any legislation that is passed now must be able to take us into 2025 and beyond,” she stressed.
Turning her attention to Ocean Park, the Minister said there were a lot of children who had no idea of what happened under water and she said that the park offered children an opportunity to develop their awareness so they could have an appreciation for the delicate balance of the ocean.
She described a tour of the Park as educational and a must for school children.
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