There is a new trend of illegal dumping of old used cars and roofing iron near roadsides along the Suva-Nausori corridor.

A team from the Fiji Sun encountered this sore sight along the residential ar­eas in Makoi, Nasinu, on Wednesday although the rubbish pickup is con­ducted daily for kitchen waste in the Nasinu area and three days a week for Suva.

However, other garbage collection for old furniture, carpets and other such rubbish happens three to four times in a year, according to local municipali­ties.

Rubbish left lying by the roadside is not only an eyesore, but is also a health hazard. Rubbish containers can collect water and breed mosqui­toes and other parasites and prove to be a risk to human health and safety.

The Minister for Waterways and Environment, Mahendra Reddy, said they were looking at ways of strictly enforcing the anti-litter laws to coun­ter the negligent manner in which people dispose of their rubbish.

“We want to enforce the litter laws, but before that happens, for the urban settlements and housing areas, we want to ensure that good bins are pro­vided,” Mr Reddy said.

The ministry is also planning to ad­vertise the enforcement of the litter laws to the public in the media

“Anyone found throwing rubbish into our waterways will be subjected to the litter laws and penalties.”

Edited by Percy Kean

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