RESPONSES GIVEN BY THE HONOURABLE DEPUTY PREMIER AND MINISTER OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, HON. DANCIA PENN, OBE, QC TO QUESTIONS ASKED BY THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION AT THE ELEVENTH SITTING OF THE FOURTH SESSION OF THE FIRST HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY ON TUESDAY, 30 AUGUST, 2011:

Mister Speaker, would the Honourable Minister for Health and Social Development please tell this Honourable House:

Question 1
a) How many Litter Wardens have been appointed to date;
Mr. Speaker, in answer to the first question, 30 Litter Wardens have been appointed to date and I’d like to say a little more Mr. Speaker. Those 30 persons were approved by Cabinet as Litter Wardens, they were commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Social Development and they were formally issued with appointments.

Those persons Mr. Speaker, had responded to a Press Release inviting any member of the public to volunteer as a Litter Warden.

They are persons from various backgrounds, from both the private and public sectors, including the Sister Islands, and they of course Mr. Speaker, are all concerned citizens and have volunteered their time and services to help to ensure compliance with the Litter (Abatement) Act.

Before they were appointed in January Mr. Speaker, the persons who were to be appointed as Litter Wardens were provided with training about the legislation and how to apply the law. The training sessions were conducted on 15 July and 11 August, 2010 and again on 25 January 2011.

The Attorney General’s Chambers and the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force provided able assistance to the Ministry with training these persons. The training dealt with the application of the legislation and they were provided with instructions on how notices should be served and the protocol to be followed. This includes Mr. Speaker, the issuing of verbal warnings prior to issuing litter removal orders or tickets.

You would recall Mr. Speaker, that on August 11, 2009 this Honourable House voted unanimously in support of amendments to the Litter (Abatement) Act. This amendment broadened the definition of Litter Warden to include officers employed by the Solid Waste Department, members of the Virgin Islands Auxiliary Force as ex officio litter wardens, along with Environmental Health Officers and Police Officers.

Persons found guilty of discharging litter from a moving vehicle, transporting waste so that it becomes litter, littering public or private premises, or failing to comply with a litter removal notice will be subjected to a maximum fine of $500 or three months imprisonment on being convicted by a Magistrate.

b) How effective has the litter warden programme been;
Mr. Speaker, in response I would say, as with any new programme, it takes time for the true results and effects to be seen.

To date, what we have found is that there has been some reduction of bulky waste around the dumpsters and there has also been a reduction in the number of drivers who are seen transporting waste on top of their vehicles. So even so soon after the programme was introduced Mr. Speaker, there is evidence that there has been a change and that some persons are compliant.

I should say to this Honourable House though Mr. Speaker, that most Litter Wardens have reported that much of the littering seems to take place overnight or in the early hours of the morning.

The Ministry of Health and Social Development, in collaboration with the Solid Waste Department will soon be conducting a thorough evaluation of the programme to assess the best ways that can be used to ensure further success.

c) How many persons have been fined or prosecuted as a result of the Litter Wardens carrying out their functions?

Mr. Speaker, no one has as yet been prosecuted or fined as a result of the Litter Wardens carrying out their functions. What Litter Wardens have reported to us Mr. Speaker, is that they have been speaking to, and issuing verbal warnings to a significant number of persons.

This approach is a direct result of the type of training that was provided by the Ministry of Health and Social Development, the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force and the Attorney General’s Chambers. During their training the Litter Wardens were advised to initially issue verbal warnings and to explain the legislation to offenders in order to provide them with a chance to correctly dispose of their litter, and to help implement a healthy, positive view on the Litter Abatement Act.

The Litter Wardens were further advised on the importance of using positive community relations to encourage environmental pride as opposed to automatically issuing litter removal orders. Repeat offenders though, Mr. Speaker, would be issued with litter removal orders.

Some of the Litter Wardens have also reported that they have received threats in the process of ensuring compliance of the Litter Abatement Act, and everyone should be reminded that threatening a Litter Warden is a criminal offence and that all threats will be reported to the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force, who of course, have a duty in respect to law enforcement.

I end Mr. Speaker, by assuring the public and this Honourable House that we remain very concerned about the problem of littering in our country, and that the Ministry, the Litter Wardens and everyone concerned, continue to work towards having our country litter free.

The public is a huge part of achieving this, and I would like to use this opportunity to ask for the public’s cooperation and their support as we strive to keep our country clean and litter free.

I thank you.

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