St. Maarten Private Eye

Maybe if the government “dished out” some money to some of the environmental organizations on the island, or “dished out” some money towards the environment in their political programs we wouldn’t have some of the environmental issues we are facing today.

The government should set an example for its people. If government doesn’t place any trashcans along the roads and beaches, of course people are more inclined to just throw their trash away where-ever. If the government doesn’t create and enforce environmental policies then there are no consequences to the wrongful actions of people. Tourists come to St.Maarten and leave their trash on our island as well. It is the government’s responsibility to put a system in place to clean this mess up.

I do agree that a clean environment should start with the people of St.Maarten.

I think it’s ridiculous that in general it is seen as normal to just throw your trash on the floor. I see this daily at my school, after our lunch break; papers, wrappers, cans and cups are covering our school floor, there are trash bins, so the only conclusion I can come to is that the kids at my school are lazy and ignorant. This lazy attitude unfortunately doesn’t only exist in my school; this attitude exists over the whole island.

Laura

Yes, Government should improved its current garbage disposal and garbage collection. However, we as citizens must also do our part. I have seen with my eyes a garbage bin right next to someone but they still throw their trash on the floor. Firstly, government should not "dish out" money to improve the garbage situation rather what they should do first is enforce the laws with regards to garbage. Once, the people understand the importance of keeping the island clean maybe through the necessary educational awareness programs then government proceed with the necessary funding. Why fund if only weeks later we are going to see the environment in the same situation maybe we can invest that money in building a Large University with dorms and all the others things a college usually have??? ...Lastly, I refuse to slam in government whether its the DP, NA or PPA rather we as a people must lift our government up and move along with them and drive St. Maarten to greatness and trust me if we do so, we can truly make this nation a GREATER one.

Many Governments around the world invest in educational awareness programs against littering.
They do this as 2 year or 5 year programs. Or it is done in conjunction with NGO's.
In SXM case, we have a serious problem that people on the island are trans-migratory. People are from all variuos cultures and they do not stay and settle. This counts for the French side as well.
A Haitian or Dominico is here to make money and send to their country, once they have made enough, they tend to leave. Others are deported.
It is amazing that on SXM we can still find persons who just came in last week or last month and have a job in construction, meaning our borders are way too open, but also that many people see SXM as a stepping stone and do not really care about community problems.
Educating the people is the key, however the education should be an on-going process as we have to reliase that we are dealing with many cultures, many people, many different backgrounds.