DESPITE the emergence of environmental groups in the last 15 years, singer/activist Lee Tafari believes Jamaica has a long way to go before it gets a ‘clean’ bill of health.

Tafari is a founding member of No Littering, a fledgling organisation whose ultimate objective is to rid the country of widespread garbage.

He told the Jamaica Observer that No Littering presently comprises himself and ‘a few others”, and continues to attract members.

“Right now, we are in a structural stage. We are getting people aware dat we have to take care of Moma Earth,” he said. “We can’t wait on the government, is not the government throwing the bag juice pon the road an’ in the bush.”

The 38-year-old Tafari (Trevor Lee Jnr) is from St Thomas. His family are owners of Lee’s Unlimited, a popular sound system that has been around since the late 1960s.

He says he has been environmentally aware since the mid-1990s when he moved to South Florida.

“I used to hear people getting fined $500 over there for littering an’ thought it was extreme,” Tafari recalled. In Jamaica, he finds the authorities are not as vigilant.

“Jamaican people are not nasty yuh nuh. They jus’ think their yard stops at their gate.”

Tafari, who has been recording for four years, has done an acoustic song called No Littering to help push his organisation’s message.

He says No Littering is planning events to introduce the group to the public before year-end.

Lee Tafari is one of the selectors for Friday’s Iration Ites Vinyl Series, dubbed ‘Original Diamond Socks and Clarks Edition’, at Tuff Gong in Kingston.