When locals and tourists think about Anguilla, we think about clear blue skies, bright sunshine, blindingly white sand and crystal clear waters. We think of friendly people, good food, live music, peace, tranquility and a relaxed vibe. We think of boat racing, beach adventures, luxurious accommodations and top notch service. Or we simply think of nothing at all – doing nothing, that is. Just laying on a deserted beach with the sun hitting our faces and basking in the simple pleasure of being alive and, better yet, being in paradise – our Anguilla. Anguilla is a wonderful place to live and visit and I am not just saying so because I love my island. It is the absolute truth.
Unfortunately, there is a dark and dirty side of Anguilla. A side we ought to be ashamed of but seem to be paying little attention to. Anguilla has a serious litter problem. One just has to drive around the island and it becomes painfully obvious that we take little pride in our surroundings. There is litter everywhere. Garbage bins are overflowing. Within a 50-foot radius of community bins, litter is always scattered. There is litter along the roadsides, behind buildings, in the bushes, along the coastline. There are few places we can go without being confronted by litter. We have community clean up after community clean up, and yet we are making very little progress with the litter problem. Styrofoam containers, plastic cups, bottles and the list goes on, can be found strewn everywhere.
Added to this, we have the problem that our people seem either unable to let go of old vehicles or appliances, or don’t care where they leave or dump them. The number of old, abandoned, rusty vehicles and appliances sitting in yards, discarded along roadsides or in the bushes, is absolutely disgraceful. Not only are they a health hazard, breeding grounds for mosquitoes and rodents, but they are unsightly and mar Anguilla’s image as a pristine island.
This problem has been exacerbated since Hurricane Irma as there is still quite a lot of debris that has been left unattended after the storm. Piles of rubble still lay on the ground where houses used to be. It should be obvious by now that the owners either do not have the will or the means to clean up their premises – and some assistance is needed. Not only should this be of concern to the owners, but to the public, because in a few months we will be faced with another hurricane season and much of the debris will be potential missiles if there is another storm.
There is need for a national call to action on our litter problem. We must make all efforts to continue spreading the anti-litter message until it becomes a part of all of us. However, I would also urge that we take the step that other countries have taken of banning the use of plastic containers and put in place a proper recycling mechanism for bottles etc. This would at least reduce the prevalence of non-biodegradable litter. Additionally, we need to give persons the opportunity and means to properly dispose of their old vehicles and equipment within a certain time or risk them being removed by Government at the owners’ expense. For those buildings which are now nothing more than piles of rubble, and are still there over six months after Irma, Government should just step in and clean them up as they pose a risk to the public.
We cannot continue to allow Anguilla’s appearance to be disfigured by our lack of pride in our environment and our failure to act to remedy our dirty problem. While we seek to build a better and stronger Anguilla, we must also seek to make her a cleaner Anguilla.
