The Tribune

ED FIELDS

FOR a very long time, I have been on what some would call an obsessive crusade against litter and litterers. It is probably the most frequent unacceptable public behaviour that offends and assaults our collective sense of decency. It is inconsiderate, it is undisciplined, it poorly represents our character and yes, it is absolutely nasty. 

When I heard what the MP from St Anne’s had said in the House of Assembly about people that litter, without hesitation, “absurdly nonsensical” came to mind or in less diplomatic terms, utter rubbish. Pun intended. 

The MP surprised me with his whitewashing of our dual national plagues, litter and the litterer. 

In summary, Adrian White, perhaps in an attempt to not insult the litterers by calling them nasty, fell far short of what is required to deal with this issue. As far short as will be those that attempt to throw litter out of their vehicles into garbage receptacles with backboards Incidentally this has been attempted before. We just end up with more refuse around garbage cans. 

Mr White, your effort to appease is noted, but you have our permission to be insulting. To say that litterers are not nasty because they are simply trying to keep their immediate environment clean is comical at best, but more appropriately hogwash. Should I dump all the undesired contents of my home or business on to a roadside easement in order to make my home or workplace more comfortable for me? Of course not.

I asked AI if it would be accurate to describe someone that litters as nasty?

The response was as follows:

“Yes, calling someone who litters nasty is an accurate and common way to describe the behaviour in everyday conversation. Because the word covers both physical filth and poor manners, it fits the act well.

Why It Fits

Physical Uncleanliness: Littering directly creates trash, mess, and unsanitary conditions in shared spaces.

Lack of Courtesy: Throwing garbage on the ground shows disregard for other people and the community, which aligns with the word's meaning of being rude or unpleasant.

Nuance in Tone

Informal Usage: Calling someone nasty is casual and carries strong personal judgment.

Alternative Words: In a formal setting, words like inconsiderate, irresponsible, or unsanitary describe the behavior more objectively without sounding like name-calling.”

So, it appears that Mr White may have been concerned about name-calling, Well, Mr White, please name call. These people are nasty, inconsiderate individuals who demonstrate attributes similar to roaming vermin turning over garbage cans. They are not thinking of anything or anyone. They are just don’t care and their actions are mindless. 

Recently, a neighbour of mine witnessed a marked vehicle from a very large establishment throwing a bottle out of the car. She courageously blew her horn until the culprit stopped. When she told them that she had just witnessed them littering, they appeared to be both clueless and completely astonished about why they were stopped. They literally had no understanding that they had done anything wrong, but apologised. 

The reason they don’t care is the fault of both their upbringing at home, and the lack of consequence applied by the state. 

Harsh penalties need to be put in place to stem this behaviour. How in the heck do we promote ourselves as a paradise destination when we do not enforce a simple thing like keeping ou country clean. 

Trust me, if I were in charge, there would be no mercy on these NASTY people. The capacity to avoid harsh penalties for their actions would be entirely in their control. We wont have to go as extreme as Singa[pore where flogging is the punishment. However, one such penalty would be public humiliation. They would be made to pick up garbage on a well travelled thoroughfare donning a bright orange jumpsuit with “LITTERER” stamped on the back in big bold print. Another would be impounding vehicles where litter is thrown from. 

I have appealed to multiple persons in authority over the past thirty years to implement these measures and to engage citizens as monitors with dashcams for the purpose of securing evidence of this dastardly behaviour. I don’t know what prevents them from doing it. 

Until such time as punitive measures are put in place, all the clean up campaigns in the world won’t change things. All we are doing is picking up after the NASTY people.