Environment Care Is Our Responsibility

Monitor Editor | Monday October 19, 2020 15:19

Some might argue that people still need to be educated on how illegal dumping is bad for the environment and perhaps that is when and how we can win the fight against illegal dumping.

Education might be one of the reasons why we still come across heaps of dirt/rubbish/rubble on our streets, but mostly it is just irresponsible selfish humans who are either too lazy to take their waste to proper dumping sites or simply just do not care.

It is not uncommon to come across a corner where a number of individuals in a neighbourhood decide it is their dumping site, and sadly that corner might be just by someone’s property! Non-biodegradable material affects the physical environment, and rubbish being illegally dumped may also be hazardous to children and animals. We have seen a number of reports where children’s lives were put in danger by used injections, which were not disposed of properly. The City of Francistown Council (COFC) recently held a stakeholder consultation on environmental cleanliness.

When addressing attendees, COFC chief environmental health officer Tshenolo Mopako noted that illegal dumping is done either late at night or early in the morning. What does that say about education?

It obviously shows that the perpetrators know that what they are doing is wrong; hence they wait for the cover of darkness to do the dumping. Really now! How sad is it for an adult who should be a role model for younger generations is the one who chooses to break the law under the cover of darkness!

Now what happens when adults don’t want to act responsibly? Government should come up with steeper fines for those who choose to contaminate the environment. Apart from negative effects that the illegal dumping has on the environment, there is also the issue of cleanliness, how does it make sense for an individual to want to keep their home clean at the expense of our streets.

We urge the government to hike fines to a level that the perpetrators will feel the pinch when parting with that money and think twice the next time they may want to dump rubbish anywhere.

We should also act as responsible citizens and report those that continue to contaminate our environment. We can all contribute to a clean and healthy environment by reporting those who choose to dump their waste anywhere and everywhere you will be making a difference. Let us make our cities, towns and villages clean.