a673: a662: RE: a592: A cleaner, healthier natural environment (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JHUDICOURTB@aol.com

The only way that things work in Haiti is if there is a business taking care
of it.  A clean environment must be equal to good business practices.  Shell
advertises that the company cares about the environment but the Shell station
in my neighborhood dumped it's trash on the lot next door, and started a fire
every morning to burn cans, plastic containers of oil, styrofoam, etc..  I am
sure those fumes are very bad for the neighbors and some toxic trash is
filtering into the soil.
One cannot punish people for messing up the environment unless there is a
logical way to do things.  Trash must go somewhere.  Most people in the
Metropolitan area throw it over the fence, or tell someone to get rid of it
without caring about where.  Right now there are private companies such as
Boucard & Co who will come to pick up your trash in big bags for 150gdes a
month.  I wondered where they put it and they assured us that the government
has a designated dump where the trash goes.
Apparently if someone would take care in investing in a truck and a cleaning
facility for the empty plastic bottles, the companies that make plastic
containers in Haiti might buy the plastic.  There are several companies
producing plastics in Haiti and they all get their supplies abroad.  Also it
would be good if someone would try to introduce alternate containers on the
market.  Juna is now one of many drinks sold in disposable containers.  Life
in Haiti is becoming very busy and many find it too cumbersome to have to buy
their drinks in returnable bottles.  The large 5 gallon water containers are
returnable, the soda bottles are returnables, but the smaller containers of
water, and all the "juices" are disposables.  Culligan sells single servings
of water in plastic bags.  These are excellent for promoting the health of
the general public but the plastic bags accumulate.
Foil and paper would be much better.  So the businessmen out there would be
smart to find 2 things:  a way that the plastic factories in Haiti will buy
plastic for recycling, making bio-degradable packaging the norm.  Publicity
campaigns would help too.  For example:  Why not bring your own bag for
grocery shopping?  Why not ask for a card-board box instead of plastic bags
if you are going by car?
So far Haiti is still too poor to produce an extraordinary amount of Trash.
Most of our trash is re-useable, it is food-trash.  If a business decided to
go around the markets to pick up the trash, I am sure that the stuff would be
good for composting or alternate fuel production.   The problem is in the
sorting.    I am sure that some good business person should be able to
capitalize on this great resource!
A lot of the trash between Titanyen and Ciment d'Haiti is clearly industrial
trash.  There are mountains of broken glass, left over metal from art or cola
bottle-cap manufacture, and small strips of paper flying around.  That is the
kind of stuff that needs to be regulated and is very ripe for some great
investigative reports.  It is time to expose the offenders.