$500 reward for information on bins

A $500 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of the individual(s) who removed two litter and recycle bins from their bases in the Sally Spring area and threw them over an embankment.{{more}}

Manager of the Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU) Winsbert Quow told SEARCHLIGHT that the bins were unbolted from their bases and thrown over a bank, sometime between December 29 and 30, 2013.

“I find it distasteful, ridiculous and insensitive that at a time when we are trying to restore our country to some form of normalcy, someone has done something like this,” Quow said via telephone on Monday afternoon.

“We are spending a lot of money dealing with the recent natural disaster and persons would find it amusing to destroy government property.”

The bins, which cost approximately EC$550 each, were placed in 17 strategic locations around Kingstown in an initiative launched in October 2013, called the Kingstown Litter Reduction Initiative.

Quow said the SWMU has already contacted the police on the matter and investigations are currently underway.

He further noted that it is an offence under the Litter Act to tamper with garbage receptacles.

“Persons can be charged up to $500 on summary conviction,” Quow revealed.

He added that the SWMU does not want what happened with the bins to become a trend.

“We have to clamp down on this very early and not let it get out of hand…. We are offering a reward of $500 for anyone to come forward with any credible information regarding the incident,” he stated.

This is not the first time that the litter and recycle receptacles have been vandalized.

In the November 1, 2013 edition of SEARCHLIGHT a photograph of a man ripping the top off one of the receptacles in capital city Kingstown, was published.

The bins initiative is a partnership of the Central Water and Sewerage Authority, private company AIR Inc, the SWMU and others.(KW)