BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

VILLAGE heads of Mukim Gadong ‘B’ yesterday called on residents to use their mobile phone cameras not only for selfies but to stop illegal garbage dumping in the area by taking pictures of the litterbugs.

Speaking with The Brunei Times, village head of National Housing Scheme (NHS) Kg Mata-Mata, Pg Hj Md Salleh Pg Hj Abd Rahman has called on residents in his area and neighbouring villages to catch in the act those who are randomly throwing their garbage.

“What better way than taking pictures of the licence plates of their cars or their faces,” he added.

“Once we get to know the culprit, as a village head, I can talk to them and tell them what they are doing is wrong,” said Pg Hj Md Salleh.

The idea of catching these culprits in the act of dumping developed when the village leaders and residents noted that the Lembah Bukit Tampa-Tampa road of Kg Mata-Mata was again littered with unsightly and sometimes tattered trash bags despite the cleaning campaign carried out last June 14.

He, however, admitted that it would be very difficult to take pictures because some of the litterbugs would throw their rubbish out of their car windows, mostly past midnight.

“But, I’m sure when we work together, we can eliminate litterbugs from our village,” said Pg Hj Md Salleh.

“Not all are litterbugs… just some of them… that’s why, we should team up with the residents and capture these litterbugs…I don’t mean to humiliate them. Once captured, we can advise them on what to do and what not to do,” added the village head.

Kg Mata-Mata village head, Hj Metali Hj Kamis, aware of the accumulation of waste across the Lembah Bukit Tampa-Tampa road, agreed with the proposal of Pg Hj Md Salleh to encourage people to take pictures of litterbugs.

He said that with the advent of modern technology and social media, litterbugs could be discouraged to avoid being humiliated by the general public. “Who would want to be known as a litterbug,” said Hj Metali.

Aside from taking pictures, other proposals to stop illegal garbage dumping in the area were also offered.

Pg Hj Md Salleh recently met with an official from the Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation (JASTRe) to discuss ways to keep the community garbage-free.

He told the JASTRe’s official that the only solution to the problem was to provide a waste container.

“As long as there is no waste container, the problem will continue regardless of how many cleaning campaigns are going to be held,” said Pg Hj Md Salleh.

There are 100 houses in STKRJ Kg Mata-Mata and over 1,000 residents, he said.

Hj Metali, on his part, recommended that a big hole should be dug in the housing area as temporary dumping site while waiting for JASTRe to provide waste containers.

Hj Metali suggested the Housing Development Department to include the payment of the waste collection services with the housing loan monthly installment.

“With this new process, residents in housing scheme would have no choice but to pay the subscription fee. At the same time, this can help our local waste companies to have more customers. Hopefully, when the company has a lot of customers, special package deal can be offered to residents at housing scheme,” he said.

The Minister of Development Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Suyoi Hj Osman recently urged residents to subscribe to the waste collector services with the aim to encourage the waste companies to lower the prices.

However, the call went unheeded as the road leading to the Landless Indigenous Citizens Housing Scheme (STKRJ) Kg Mata-Mata was strewn with trash bags in less than a week after the cleaning campaign was conducted.

The Brunei Times