On a bright, warm and sunny Monday afternoon, one would think the last thing on a tourist's mind would be trash.

But for one tourist with a clear sense of mission, litter can never be overlooked. Sue Smith of Keep America Beautiful is in Bermuda to address the Annual General Meeting of Keep Bermuda Beautiful today -- and trash is on her mind.

"I've picked up litter thrown on the streets of Hamilton. That's not the job of a tourist,'' she told The Royal Gazette yesterday.

Litter is an issue for Bermuda, she said, and she's been told that the problem on the Island is growing. But KBB is working toward battling it with the ultimate goal of becoming a "litter-free zone''.

Achieving the goal is possible, she said. "Bermuda is an amazingly clean country. I'm here as a tourist as well as I've extended my stay to tour the Island, and this is the cleanest island nation I've been on. It is evident to me that the ethic of the citizens is a litter-free Bermuda.'' But walking from Elbow Beach hotel to Hamilton, she still found plenty of trash and ultimately, people are the problem.

"People are not fully taking responsibility, even here in this beautiful, pristine environment,'' she said. "People didn't take responsibility for the litter I found.'' Education will be the key to eliminating the litter problem, Ms Smith will tell the KBB board tonight.

Ms Smith is the national director for education and training of Keep America Beautiful. In addition to her speaking duties tonight, she will present the organisation with certification as an international partner of KAB.

"We now have 503 affiliates in 41 states and four foreign countries,'' she said.

It took KBB roughly a year to obtain certification. To qualify KBB had to perform a litter and solid waste survey and submit details of its organisational and administrative structure. KBB must provide the information to the American counterpart twice a year.

With the partnership status Bermuda will have access to all the educational and training resources of KAB.

KBB has expressed an interest in materials on litter prevention, community improvement and beautification and minimising the impact of waste, Ms Smith said.

Composting, recycling, landfill incineration and waste source reduction are the ways to achieve many of these goals, she said. "Most important is source reduction,'' she said.

And despite Bermuda's unique hurdles -- such as recycling limitations -- she thinks that becoming litter free is a realistic goal.

The situation that faces the Island is much like that of planet Earth, she said, "in the sense that they are both these closed environments''.

But littering is a behaviour, she said and the litter problem should not be looked at in terms of items -- bottles or styrofoam -- but as individuals who litter.

"The message must be that littering is unacceptable. It will not be tolerated,'' she said. "That's how to end up with zero litter.'' To that end, KBB must diversify its board she said, especially to include the business community and educators.

And Ms Smith said that the new Bermuda Alliance for Tourism (BAT) is a great opportunity for KBB because of the natural relationship between the Island's cleanliness and tourism.