Volunteers gathered during five days for Saba’s annual island clean-up from Friday to Sunday, August 19-21, and on Friday, August 26 and Sunday August 28.
Employees of the Public Entity Saba, the Saba Electric Company (SEC), the Fire Department, Saba Conservation Foundation (SCF), representatives of the Saba Reach Foundation, members of the Philippine community and a few other residents took on the daunting task of cleaning up the different villages and their outskirts.
Commissioners Bruce Zagers and Rolando Wilson, and Island Council Member Vito Charles joined the volunteers into picking up trash, while the Sanitation/Waste Management Department was present for the logistics.
During the first weekend, St. John’s was cleaned on August 19, The Bottom on August 20 and Fort Bay on August 21. During the second weekend, Windwardside was cleaned on August 26 and Zion’s Hill on August 28.
Per day, some 30 bags of garbage were collected with about 80% of the trash consisting of beer bottles.
Beer bottles were found especially in large quantities on the outskirts of the villages. In addition, about 10 car tires were collected that had been tossed over the walls.
“Once again, a very successful cleanup campaign was organized by the Island Government. I hope that in the future we can reduce the frequency of these clean-ups but for this to happen we need to stop litering. As a community we must all support the no litering intiative if we want to protect our environment and keep our Unspoiled Queen clean and pristine,” said Commissioner Zagers, who worked with members of the Philippine community in Zion’s Hill.
Zagers thanked the organizers and the volunteers who participated and made this island-wide clean-up campaign a success. The glass and plastic bottles that were collected during the clean-up have been separated for recycling. The tires will be shredded and exported to the United States for processing, said organizer Camilo Usuga, Waste Management & Recycling Manager.
