By Robert A. Emmanuel
General Manager of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) Indira James-Henry said her agency is planning to relaunch the litter warden programme as community activists held a dialogue on solutions to reduce illegal dumping.
During a recent meeting of community stakeholders of the North East Marine Management Area (NEMMA), the newly appointed General Manager explained that “when it first started out, the unit was fully functioning, [but] just like everything else in government, it went dormant during Covid”.
She explained that the relaunch of the litter warden initiative would help to increase the cleanliness of the environment. At present, there are only six litter wardens and the majority of them operate within St John’s city, she added.
She also indicated that while “the legislative framework is in order, the mechanisms and procedures to become a litter warden in the community would have to follow what is in the Act”, including capacity building of potential wardens.
“It would have to cover a period to get you familiarised with the process, in order to write a ticket properly, how to take a ticket to the court. It is not just that you see something then automatically that person can issue a fine, it is a whole process,” she said.
The litter prevention warden programme was established under the Litter Control and Prevention Act 2019 in order to reduce illegal dumping of trash across the country.
The legislation, which replaced the Litter Act, also introduced tough new penalties with fines of up to $3,000 for littering or a year in prison. The fine rises to $15,000 if committed by a corporate entity.
In addition to members of the public appointed by the Permanent Secretary, the Act provided for police officers, traffic wardens, public health inspectors, environmental officers, forestry officers, local government and community officers within the Ministry of Social Transformation, senior members within Solid Waste, and every member of both Houses of Parliament to serve as ex-officio litter wardens.
James-Henry said printing of further ticketing books to be used by the litter wardens is necessary.
“One of the reasons why you don’t see a lot of awareness and tickets being issued was because the ticketing book was not widely available,” she explained.
“Not a lot of entities within government who are also considered litter wardens have that book,” she added.
James-Henry also revealed that there will be a revamp of the agency’s educational unit to help improve environmental awareness programmes planned by the NSWMA within local communities and schools.
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