The front page photo in Tuesday’s newspaper was downright disheartening. People dumped household appliances, car parts and construction waste at Belair Beach.
Several organisations regularly visit such locations to pick up the mess left by others, but it often seems like carrying water to sea. Despite countless awareness campaigns highlighting the need to keep the island, these kinds of unsavoury practices continue on a daily basis.
The best way to stop this would be to penalise those who are responsible, but it remains very hard to catch them red-handed. Police have limited resources and different priorities, including the security of both residents and tourists.
Besides, they cannot be everywhere at the same time. For that reason, relevant government officials are being made extraordinary law enforcement officers able to issue and collect fines, etc.
But even these are powerless unless they observe the culprits in the act or have physical evidence. That’s also where the general public can be of great assistance.
If you see illegal dumping of trash, try to take a video or picture, preferably showing the vehicle used and its number plate. However, do so only if unnoticed by those involved in order not to jeopardise one’s own safety.
Stopping loiterers from polluting the island is a task not just for authorities, but the entire population. They must feel it in their pockets.
