By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

Environmental activist Joseph Darville said indiscriminate dumping has now become a widespread problem in Grand Bahama, and law enforcement must be engaged to help tackle it.

Mr Darville, chairman of Save The Bays and Waterkeepers Bahamas, is disgusted and concerned over the dumping of debris in the environment, particularly the beaches, waterways, and in various communities on the island.

“We become a very nasty community,” he said. “When I came to Grand Bahama in 1977, Freeport was an immensely clean place, but now it is in a disgusting state.”

A recent dumping incident in the Williams/Russell Town area is devastating, Mr Darville said.

Local government officials at the City of Freeport District, including chief councillor Frazette Gibson and Bishop Leslie Woodside have also expressed concern about the dumping of appliances, old mattresses, and piles of conch shells in the area.

Keep Grand Bahama Clean Committee chairperson Nakira Wilchcombe said it is an unfortunate incident that is ongoing in the community.

“It is a disastrous thing happening on that (dirt) road going to the beach area, and it is indicative of what is happening all over Freeport,” said Mr Darville.

“Individuals are taking vast amounts of debris and machinery and dumping them on the roadside.

“It is really disheartening because we worked diligently with the Environmental Department of the Grand Bahama Port Authority putting up signs all over and speaking on the radio about it.”

The Queen’s Cove area, according to Mr Darville, has now become an ideal area for illegal dumping.

“There is more garbage dumped there now than what goes to the landfill,” he said.

Port of Call Drive is another problem area that is constantly inundated with trash. Save the Bays and Waterkeepers have gone into the area three times in the past eight months removing massive pounds of garbage dumped there.

Mr Darville believes that authorities in Grand Bahama - the Ministry of the Environment, the Grand Bahama Port Authority, and local authorities - must come together and stop the indiscriminate dumping problem.

“Law enforcement must be initiated if we want to get back the cleanliness that used to be the signature of Freeport and Grand Bahama,” he said.

Ms Wilchcombe, who is also vice president of Building and Development Services at Grand Bahama Port Authority, believes efforts must be made to determine the culprit/culprits responsible.

“We really have to investigate these occurrences so we can bring those culprits to some form of punishment, whether it is before the courts and in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Health Services,” she said.