Yesterday was one of our most challenging days yet.
We started by completing the Belle Road, where we collected seven extra-large bags of litter. By the end of the day, that number had grown to 24 extra-large bags, the most we have ever collected in a single day.
In just two days of cleaning, we have now filled an entire skip. That alone gives some indication of the scale of the litter problem we are facing in Barbados.
After the Belle Road, we moved to the top of Rendezvous Hill near the Garfield Sobers Roundabout, then continued to the area beside the old Trident supermarket, where we encountered a tremendous amount of litter and garbage. We finished the day at the public beach access between Sandals and Bougainvillea Hotel.
"What continues to concern us is that this is not an isolated problem. We are regularly approached by visitors to Barbados who tell us how disappointed and frustrated they are by the amount of litter they are seeing around the island."
Picking up litter is important, but it is not the long-term solution. Barbados urgently needs a more proactive approach: stronger enforcement, better public education, improved waste disposal options and greater accountability.
We will continue doing our part, one section of road at a time. But this problem cannot be solved by volunteers and private initiatives alone. We need those responsible for managing our environment to acknowledge the scale of the problem and help lead the solutions Barbados deserves.