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Home » Blogs » Bertrand Bhikarry's blog

Beware. The day of the floater is near.

June 29, 2010 by Bertrand Bhikarry

Peer pressure. It's something that recognized as important by almost every generation, but it has not been examined for its potential as a key tool for the environmental lobby of Trinidad and Tobago. Here's an example of how it works. 
 
Some time ago in Great Britain, the thrust to conserve energy, to 'go green' by lessening the individual  carbon footprint was taken up by the computer industry. UK based research had shown that a office computer left running overnight cost the owners an additional forty pounds every twelve months. The unused machine was also contributing to a chain of events that led to the unnecessary generation of more than half a metric tonne of carbon dioxide. Effectively, even in their absence, the office worker's bad habit were adding to the problem of global warming.    
 
Providing the computer users with the logical arguments of downsizing their carbon footprint had no impact on many staffers, some of whom cited longer working hours, memory fatigue and even technical reasons for leaving machines on overnight. Having night watchmen turn off the desktops made no significant impacts on the practice either.
 
The ultimate solution was found when someone had a bright idea to tie a green helium-filled balloon to each computer that was left running after working hours. The visual effect of the floating green spheres marking the recalcitrant PC operators as big carbon footprint offenders was enough to curb the bad habit,  almost on the day in most cases. Repeat offenders were in the minority, as follow-up checks indicated. 
 
Obviously the thought of being outside the loop of group behavior, of being 'marked' as an offender was too much for the laggards to take. Conformity came about in short order. The lesson is not new, but for Trinidad and Tobago it is not one we have used to any great extent yet with the litterbugs.
 
In past weeks we have looked on as the brand new prime minister made efforts to clean and beautify the country, she, no doubt hoping that in leading by example, a great shift in behavioral patterns may come about. Mayhap the only reason the environment lobby didn't collectively sigh 'Dream on, Madam Prime Minister!' had to be no one wanted to deflate her balloon, in a manner of speaking.
 
Will a persistent round of cleanup campaigns work to instill a collective sense of cleaner communities?  The sad fact is that regardless of the good intentions, the size of the effort, the cost to mobilize it, the person who is left alone to choose between the correct thing and the easy thing, may do the latter. The spontaneous dumpsites nationwide testify to the truth in that.    
  
As head of the state,  what she has to enable, and as citizens, what we all need to do, is to attach the virtual balloon to offensives perpetrated on the environment by the uncaring. Of course we must also remain mindful of the potential to earn one ourselves. If the fad to tag the 'floater' catches on, will that be a good use of peer pressure or what?                                     
 
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Comments

Solutions

June 30, 2010 by Christian Khabay, 10 weeks 1 day ago
Comment id: 687

In identifying the causes of the garbage pile-up several things come to mind and until and unless these are addressed the problem will continue to exist:

  1.  Mindset: Trinbagonians have have lived third world lives and hence dumping and littering has become intrinsic to life.
  2. Services: By not providing a proper service to rid communities of bulk garbage and plastic / paper recycling citizens have been left with little options where this is concerned. By implementing such a system whereby each consumer pays for the removal it can pay for itself. Hardly novel, since most foreign countries charge for basic garbage removal that we here expect and take for granted.
  3. Mrs. Persad-Bissessar on the hustings recommended that plastic bottle distributors require deposits / refunds like beer bottles, hence insentivizing plastic recycling which seems to be the main culprit at clogged waterways not to mention an expansion of the bottle collection industry.

So all in all the right motivation to do the right thing is all that is needed and of course policing and enforcement of the laws that govern illegal dumping.

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