Those plastic bottles
EDITORIAL
Stabroek News
July 16, 2004
When was the last time you bought a soft drink in a glass bottle? It is almost quaint, like writing a letter instead of sending an email.
Local drink manufacturers have embraced plastic bottles in part because they had to compete against importers. The containers are also light and don't require any handling after being sold. But that is the problem. There are empty bottles everywhere and still no plan to recycle them.
At a workshop in May 2002, it was decided to form a committee to look into setting up such a plan. That committee has made little if any progress and the bottles keep being discarded at an estimated 500,000 a month. The obvious solution is to encourage people not to litter, to throw garbage in bins or take their empty bottles home. It is still a mystery why there is such littering but it would appear to be some strange form of protest that wants to make the country into a pigsty. Littering campaigns can only reach so far.
The ultimate solution must be a recycling programme. But not one managed by the government. They have enough problems picking up garbage in Georgetown or establishing such systems in the countryside where most residents still burn their refuse.
Instead it should be organised by a consortium of the importers and manufacturers and based on economic incentives. There already is such an incentive in place in that importers get to recoup the $10 per bottle they pay in environmental tax if they send the bottle out again. How this would work with recycled plastic needs to be clarified.
But there must also be an incentive for the citizen to return his or her bottle or even collect bottles to make some extra money. In several developed countries, such programmes work entirely without government regulation and you would be hard pressed to find an aluminium can or plastic bottle in any garbage bin let alone lying on the street or verge. In southern Africa, including countries such as Botswana, once plagued by empty beer cans, a system put in place by manufacturers has worked wonders for the environment and has created 37,000 jobs.
In Guyana, manufacturers and importers could agree on a refund price of perhaps $5 on each bottle and then simply collect empties from their customers for disposal at a central recycling unit that can wash, shred and compact the plastic for export. This will require a level of co-operation and trust not yet demonstrated by local companies and they may not make much money, if any, on the investment given that recycled plastic does not fetch a high price.
But the benefits are obvious: a cleaner country and a cleaner image for the companies. All the government would have to do is arrange for concessions on the processing equipment.
We are now three years away from hosting games in the World Cup Cricket. Please let us not have a mad scramble to tidy up the place a few weeks before the teams and tourists arrive. This system should be put in place as soon as possible. The tournament is a useful target but this must be done for the citizens themselves. A clean environment can go a long way in encouraging a more positive outlook on life, while also discouraging litterbugs. So, who in the business community is willing to step up?