Port of Spain Clean Up

The Port of Spain City Corporation, CEPEP and the Trinidad and Tobago Solid Waste Management Company Limited (SWMCOL) have the responsibility of keeping the country clean at all times. This  is an important job and is usually taken for granted by the general public. However, if these three major companies did not adequately do their part, the City of Port of Spain would be a quarantine zone. 

SWMCOL is responsible for the disposal of all garbage collected in the city. Majority of the garbage is disposed in the Beetham Landfill located just outside of the city. The landfill is one of the main causes for the smog which occurs over the city and if its toxicity level is not properly controlled the smog can become unbearable and harmful to citizens in its environs. For example, this was the case in January 2014 when the burning fires in the landfill caused the toxicity level in Port of Spain to proliferate thirteen (13) times the safe limit. This event resulted in many schools and businesses to be closed for 3 consecutive days and many persons living within the city experienced dangerous  respiratory problems. The news paper article in the link below can provide further information about these events.

http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,189928.html

The Port of Spain City Corporation has the biggest job when it comes to the removal of waste and garbage from the city. They provide jobs for persons to collect garbage throughout the city without the use of standard garbage trucks (as shown in the image on the left taken by Brett Lucas). This benefits the environment and it’s easier to manoeuvre through the traffic in the city. Additionally they aid in early morning garbage transport to the Beetham landfill to ensure clean communities and the Central Business District (CBD) before commuters begin their daily routines, for example; going to school, work or shopping. 

Finally CEPEP provides daily clean up and maintenance of city and many other areas around the country. This organisation is also responsible for providing employment for locals in numerous communities throughout the country. By having locals work in their own communities they show greater interest and commitment towards up-keeping their areas. They maintain areas by cutting the grass, clearing drains and waterways and picking up litter. 

In my opinion the clean up efficiency in Port of Spain has been at very high levels, for example one early Saturday morning we went into Port of Spain, the city was already cleaned and the workers were on their way home. Another example drawn from the preceding post on Carnival shows how the clean-up operations began directly after the festivities ended, resulting in clean streets on ash Wednesday morning.  This goes to show that the attitude of the workers towards their commitment to their jobs and to their country has improved moderately over the years.  

References 

"BEETHAM AIR POLLUTION UPDATE | Trinidad Express Newspaper | Videos." Trinidad Express Newspaper. Accessed March 25, 2015. http://www.trinidadexpress.com/videos/-BEETHAM-AIR-POLLUTION-UPDATE-2915-243045381.html.

Espinet, Rachel, and Marlene Augustine. "Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : Newsday.co.tt :." Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : Newsday.co.tt : Daily News from Trinidad and Tobago. Accessed March 25, 2015. http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,189928.html.

"Functions & Responsibilities | City Of Port Of Spain." City Of Port Of Spain | We Gather Strength As We Go Along. Accessed March 25, 2015. http://cityofportofspain.gov.tt/city-council/functions-and-responsibilities/.

Urban Pollution and Carnival

Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago originated as a result of the mix of cultures that settled on the island. This spanned from the Spanish and English colonial powers, French planters, African slaves, Indian indentured labourers, and the many other ethnic groups that settled here. When the French came in 1783, their culture and customs accompanied them; they introduced Carnival in the form of masquerade balls to Trinidad along with African slaves. Both the French and the British used the period between Christmas and Lent as a time for feasting and fancy dress balls. Since the slaves were banned from the festivities, they would carry on their own celebrations, mimicking and mocking their masters while incorporating their own rituals and folklore. After slavery was abolished in 1838, the freed Africans took their Carnival to the streets, it kept evolving as each new immigrant population came to Trinidad due to indentured labour-ship or other reasons. 

(Source from Urban Entertainment blog - http://ttcityentertainment.blogspot.com/2015/03/carnival2015-streets-of-port-of-spain.html)

Today, due to this massive celebration, which occurred last month, many foreigners enter the country to partake in the 2-day event. This brings to light the concern of accommodation for the large population increase, be it transportation or waste collection facilities. Some of these visitors come from countries that have strict littering laws so they have the habit of taking care of their garbage, while others just don’t care. They are in the same boat as the Trinidadians who litter with complete disregard for the authorities or state of the country and the result of the litter problem. They all have this attitude that CEPEP is there to deal with the litter situation and think if they don’t litter the CEPEP workers wont have jobs. For the 2-day event massive groups of persons, be them in bands or spectators, line the streets of Port-of-Spain partying, drinking, eating, just having a good time. Most of them don’t see/feel the need to place their garbage (mostly glass bottles or cans) in a bin, they simply just place them on the floor and go on with their celebrations despite the bins that are placed throughout the city, or so it may seem. The Brian Lara Promenade had a lot of these bins placed by the city corporation, but do they span throughout the entire city of Port-of-Spain

Apart from the physical pollution, what about noise pollution? These 20-40 foot trucks pull large music systems throughout the city. They belt out loud sounds that travel and vibrate houses, pet owners can’t handle the noise. What about the children that have to study or the old persons?

At our nation’s schools, teachers work hard ensuring that our children understand the problems associated with littering; however when they leave the classrooms and school compound and see their elders littering what are they to do? It places a strain on them as the people they look up to are littering and during carnival so many people are littering, they begin to think that it’s okay to do it or is it okay to do it for this festival. Confusion sets in their minds as they want to listen to they teachers but the many people on the streets along with their older relatives outweigh what was said in the classroom.

References:

Cholai, Sureash. "Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : Newsday.co.tt :." Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : Newsday.co.tt : Daily News from Trinidad and Tobago. Accessed March 7, 2015. http://www.newsday.co.tt/day/1,7778.html.

Luke, Aba A. "If You Litter You’re Nothing but a Loser." The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper. Accessed March 7, 2015. http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2011/08/23/if-you-litter-you-re-nothing-loser.

"Port of Spain Case Study." Scribd - Read Unlimited Books. Accessed March 7, 2015. http://www.scribd.com/doc/19552480/Port-of-Spain-Case-Study#scribd.

"Trinidad and Tobago - The True Caribbean - Official Travel and Tourism Site." Trinidad and Tobago - The True Caribbean - Official Travel and Tourism Site. Accessed March 7, 2015. http://www.gotrinidadandtobago.com/trinidad/carnival/.