The revelation by the Caribbean Youth Environmental Network (CYEN) that the bulk of plastic waste it collected from clean-up campaigns around the island came from areas most frequented by tourists, is a worrying disclosure.Rhonda Ward, the Integrated management systems coordinator of Barbados Bottling Company, who is a part of CYEN, made the disclosure to members of the media, though it did not grab the public’s attention in the way such an important development should have garnered.We suggest it also reflects an apparent diminishing concern for our physical environment.The group said it collected some 10,000 pieces of plastic from south coast beaches. This was twice as many removed from collections on the east, north and west coasts of the island combined.Though Ward chose not to ascribe blame to visitors to the island, we know that where the visitors congregate usually results in commercial activity occurring in those areas as locals hustle for precious income during these challenging times.
