Fifty six litter wardens are now fully equipped to carry out their duties and have been collecting their identification cards over the past week.

According to the Manager of Waste Management Mr. Greg Massicote, The Litter Warden programme was originally launched in the early 2000s to assist the Department in maintaining a pristine Virgin Islands and Cabinet approved the appointment of 56 persons last year to serve as Litter Wardens.

Mr. Massicote said the wardens will be out in full force as Government seeks to promote and maintain the cleanliness and the beauty of the Virgin Islands.  He outlined that the programme is at its final phase and will be soon ready for full implementation.

 Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Social Development Ms. Tasha Bertie, stated that the Litter Warden programme was re-invigorated and its new mission is to get community partnership in maintaining a clean Virgin Islands. Ms Bertie said the Ministry of Health and Social Development is therefore urging the community to partner with the Litter Wardens to maintain a beautiful and clean Virgin Islands.  

“This time around we want to get the buy-in from the community.” She said, adding “The cleanliness of the BVI is everyone’s business.  We all live here and we have to take the onus on ourselves to keep the Virgin Islands clean”.

Ms. Bertie explained that the Litter Warden programme is not about issuing tickets.  “If a Litter Warden approaches you about something that you are doing that contravenes the law, you can be asked to stop what you are doing or correct what you have done.” She added that if the advice from the wardens is ignored then a ticket will be issued.

Ms. Bertie further explained that there is a heavy dependence on the police to make the programme work. She said the police are Litter Wardens by law and that wardens, who are experiencing problems with the issuing of tickets, are required to seek assistance from the law enforcement officers.

The community is also asked to play its part and adhere to the Litter Abatement Act.

Persons found to be disregarding the Litter Abatement Act can be fined up to $500 or can spend three months in prison.

An invitation is extended to the community to tune into CBN channel 51 from January 20-30 to learn more about the Litter Warden programme and to see who the wardens are. The programme will be aired from Monday to Saturday at 10:00 p.m.

The Department of Waste Management is committed to ensuring that the natural beauty of the Territory is enhanced by utilising state of the art waste management technology to ensure timely collection, disposal and where possible the recycling of waste.