Dear Sir,

It’s time that the island officials step up and implement stronger penalties for littering in Bermuda, such as fines, cameras in known littering areas, anti-littering campaigns.

In the past week, I have seen numerous articles in The Royal Gazette in reference to trash — Dockyard, Fort Hamilton. I spend most of my weekends picking up as much trash as possible in remote areas, but I just can’t keep up any more. How can it be that people on this island are so disrespectful that they blatantly litter in the open.

Some offenders have been dumping large items — fridges, mattresses, etc — on Orange Valley Road, which is less than two minutes away from the incinerator dump where it is free to dump.

What is wrong with people? Why can’t the littering offender just refrain from littering?

I refuse to believe that people just genuinely do not care about littering. Think before littering.

Bermuda should follow the lead and implement littering laws of some areas such as Hong Kong, which has strict anti-littering laws backed by fines of approximately $200. Another example is Singapore, which imposes significant penalties if caught littering — fine starting at $300 per offence). The littering issue is starting to get out of hand in Bermuda and something needs to be done about it — fast. I have actually been in recent conversations with guest workers and tourists who have admitted to me that the island is not as clean as they were told it would be.

In some cases, one visiting couple actually told me that they thought that the island was quite dirty.

“Bermuda”, “dirty” — surely two words that should never go together. I have been fighting this as much as I can by going out there regularly and picking up bags and bags of trash, but it never ends; offenders keep littering and in the same areas over and over again.

We need to start implementing fines or some sort of penalty, not only to protect and respect the environment, but also to keep the island clean for the tourists who come to see our gorgeous island.

Please keep Bermuda beautiful; it does not cost a penny to refrain from littering. Bermuda should be an immaculate paradise.

Time for change.

A CONCERNED AND FRUSTRATED BERMUDIAN