~~Adz:Right~~Basseterre, St. Kitts (September 29, 2006): The general public was encouraged to take care of the Federation's beaches not just on National Coastal Cleanup Day but year-round.
This advice was imparted by the Department of Physical Planning and Environment's Senior Environmental Officer Mr. Randolph Edmeade. He said that the event shows some of the negative activity that takes place on the beach, such as the disposal of garbage, in order to encourage attitudinal change. He said it was important to encourage residents to properly dispose of their refuse when they go to the beach.
The Department of Environment also invited the participation of private partners. The St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank Manager of Business Development Mrs. Patricia Wilkinson explained that her company was invited to join the effort. She said that because National Bank believes in the development of youth, and the exercise was essential in the teaching of responsibility.
The National Bank Manager of Business Development agreed that residents should be mindful to properly dispose of refuse accumulated on the beach.
She noted that sometimes the larger items might be adequately removed from the beach but the smaller items such as plastic forks might be thrown on the sand. She added that this can be detrimental to the marine life, including turtles.
~~Adz:Left~~Mr. Edmeade likewise said that certain objects are left advertently and inadvertently on the beach and can range from plastic bottles to old refrigerators or stoves. He said that the larger items are noted and the information passed to the Solid Waste Management Corporation (SWMC), another partner in the clean up effort. The Senior Environmental Officer explained the collection procedure. He said that the collected refuse was removed from the beach, categorized and catalogued, weighed and the information recorded for the International Coastal Clean Up Data Base.
SWMC then took the collected garbage to the Conaree Landfill free of cost.
