Despite heavy rains last weekend, the St. Kitts Solid Waste Management Corporation (SWMC) National Cleanup Campaign mop up activities went ahead as planned this past weekend in communities spanning Needsmust to Tabernacle and onwards to St. Pauls. It was a fitting activity as the Clean Up campaign for this year came to a close after eight weeks of intense cleanup actions around the island. Mop up involves revisiting communities that were already involved in the exercise but may have been missed by the initial cleanup. Ms. Tyasha Henry, Collections Officer spoke about what took place this past weekend. “We put down bins in the area and everybody came together and they assist with getting their stuff out. Most people said we need to continue the cleanup and I agree,” Ms. Henry said. “I feel that we need more time, but this is the end. I liked how everyone came together by getting the work done,” she added.

Mr. Valentine Heyliger, Collections Supervisor, pointed to the value of the cleanup campaign as there was a high demand for the garbage bins. “It’s amazing. It seems as though the more bins we put down is the more garbage people look like they have. So even though it is the last of the campaign, there is still a lot more garbage to be collected,” he said.

Meanwhile litter warden Sandra Caines thanked residents in the communities for their cooperation in supporting the campaign. “Most people came out, they did what they had to do in the period of time, but we needed more time because majority of people still have things that they have to dispose…we are hoping to do this next year around this time. Thanks to everyone for cooperating,” Ms. Caines said.

Some residents in some of the communities spoke about the value of the campaign. One resident in Cabbage Tree Housing in Cayon, commended the SWMC for doing this initiative. “The project has helped me and my neighbors in cleaning up. I wish that you would come back sometime closer to the Christmas. That’s the time we do the massive cleaning,” the resident said, suggesting that this exercise be done quarterly. The National Cleanup Campaign is an initiative of the SWMC which lasted for eight weeks. It was designed to help residents clean their communities by removing bulky waste and old appliances free of cost, by placing bins in designated areas.