EVERY day we come across rubbish whether we are walking along the streets, swimming in rivers and creeks, playing in the park or even in the comfort of our own homes.
People never seem to care about it and little does it come to mind that this rubbish affects other livelihoods, not only human beings, but other creatures in creation.
Despite numerous awareness efforts being carried out by relevant stakeholders on the dangers of littering, people never seem to care and the sad reality is it is the adults themselves who are not responsible at all and do not care about where they dump their rubbish.
As such, a handbook titled “Rubbish is a Resource!” — a waste resource kit for the Pacific Islands — was put together by the Global Environment Facility, the United Nations Development Programme and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme containing a wide variety of information ranging from practical help with the nuts and bolts of recycling different materials to planning waste strategies.
The handbook says poor waste management costs governments, businesses and the public significant money and a great example would be extra health care costs and losses in fishing from polluted waters, from mosquito-borne diseases and loss of tourism revenue, to name a few. Litter also causes a loss of community pride and creates a general unease about the ability of the Government to deliver on services.
The Fiji Times has dedicated the month of February as anti-litter month and feedback from the public clearly shows people care about their environment while others tend to completely forget or ignore that general importance of disposing their waste or rubbish carefully.
Health Minister Jone Usamate said Fijians should not litter because environmental cleanliness was also important to mental health.
“And of course if we have a nice clean environment it is good for us, if you look around it is relaxing.
“If you’ve got a place that is full of rubbish, it affects you physically and then you have your stress levels and if you have high blood pressure it makes it even worse.”
Mr Usamate also called on parents to be good role models for their children and teach them to place all rubbish in bins.
“Parents need to start from home. Parents need to teach their children and they need to model that appropriate behaviour.
“If parents litter their children will follow,” Mr Usamate said.
While the message has come from the Health Minister himself, it is time that people take ownership and this begins from their very own home.
