On the afternoon of April 5, 2025, while jogging through Mona along Garden Boulevard, I was brought to an abrupt stop — not by exhaustion, but by a devastating sight. The grass on the medians and sidewalks had just been cut, revealing a flood of trash previously hidden beneath it. My initial thought was: Was there a hurricane I didn’t hear about? The scene was both disgusting and heartbreaking.

What I saw mirrored the chronic issue plaguing our country. Because the trash straddles the border of The University of the West Indies’ (UWI) property, though not The UWI’s responsibility, I raised the concern in a WhatsApp group with several UWI officials. Thankfully, one member of the group acknowledged the issue and said he would bring it to the attention of the Member of Parliament. Still, the deeper truth remains: Garden Boulevard is not unique. This is Jamaica. This is everywhere.

The workers cutting the grass have a clear job — to cut. Cleaning up the garbage isn’t part of their remit. But the expanse of waste revealed in Mona is the product of a bigger issue: the habitual, conscious and unconscious, filthiness of many Jamaicans who freely throw trash anywhere. It is symptomatic of something far worse — an erosion of discipline, civic pride, and social values. The very fabric of Jamaican society is under siege!

Where Are the Powers That Be?

Can the Government not see this? What are we doing as a country? This is no longer just a sanitation issue — it is a social crisis. We need immediate, deliberate, and robust action. The Government, supported by the private sector, must initiate sustained and national programmes that don’t just clean up the trash but address the underlying decay in our norms and values.

In my own home I’ve “programmed” my six- and 10-year-old sons to be hyper aware of littering. My older son, in particular, is visibly angered by garbage in the streets. That is what conscious parenting looks like. But this responsibility shouldn’t fall solely on parents. Campaigns like Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica must become omnipresent, splintered into locally targeted versions and embedded into our primary and secondary education systems.

Just as I have advocated for making entrepreneurship education mandatory in primary and secondary schools at all levels, I now call for civics as a compulsory element at all levels of our primary and secondary school curriculum, to include litter prevention and environmental protection among other crucial learning elements. We must start with the youth, programming and reprogramming mindsets early, while also finding creative ways to help adults unlearn these deeply ingrained, destructive behaviours.

A Personal Reflection

I once lived in Tower Isle, St Mary. Opposite the school my son attended (Liberty Learning Centre) was a small beach where turtles laid eggs. But when the baby turtles hatched, they struggled to “launch” because of trash scattered along the shoreline. Many mornings I would stop to pick up trash — and even clear paths for the baby turtles.

If people can pollute a turtle-nesting beach on Jamaica’s beautiful north coast, imagine how much worse it gets in urban areas, like Kingston, where “natural beauty” is more hidden. It shows a complete lack of care or remorse.

A Call to Action — Now

We are standing at a social tipping point. I strongly believe this crisis warrants a firmer, more authoritarian approach to regulation and enforcement. I recently shared at the Senior Common Room (SCR) Club that I would be willing to give up certain personal freedoms for the benefit of law, order, and a functioning society. I often dream of spending a year in Singapore — a country that once modelled aspects of its development on Jamaica. Today, Singapore has surpassed us in nearly every way, not least because of its discipline and orderliness.

There are very real social and economic benefits to a clean Jamaica. We must see littering not as an isolated problem, but as a red flag, one that signals the broader issues of indiscipline and social disorder.

This year is an election year, and I hope the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP) will take a heavy-handed approach to these challenges and more. Below are a few ideas I propose to spark a national conversation and potential policy development, whether similar exists or is already underway:

PUNITIVE MEASURES

1) Escalating fines and community service:

• First offence: $10,000–$20,000

• Second offence: $50,000 or 60 hours of community clean-up

• Third-plus offence: $100,000 or seven to 14 days in jail or a rehabilitation centre (non-criminal record)

2) Confidential misdemeanour registry:

• Maintained by law enforcement only

• Invisible to the public, non-impactful on employment, expires after two years

3) Mandatory waste plans for businesses:

• Non-compliance leads to hefty fines or licence and registration suspensions

4) Litter surveillance and citizen reporting:

• Closed-circuit TV (CCTV) in litter-prone zones

• A mobile app (Litter Spot Jamaica) with rewards for verified geotagged reports

ENFORCEMENT AND STRUCTURAL REFORMS

1) Implementation of Litter and Environmental Protection Division (LEPD) — within the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF)

• Trained to enforce environmental laws

• Can ticket, fine, arrest, and investigate

2) National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) — attached community environmental officers

• District constables trained by and assigned to NEPA and deployed in communities across Jamaica

• Empowered to inspect, fine, and arrest for environmental breaches

SOCIAL INCENTIVE PROGRAMMES

1) Clean Endz, Win Big! competition

• Monthly competitions with community rewards

2) Cash or credit for recyclables

• Up the ante on recycling buy-back programmes with corporate partners

3) Green points system

• Points for reporting litter, participating in clean-ups, using eco-products

• Redeemable for discounts, for example, Jamaica Urban Transit Company fares and mobile credit

4) Youth environmental ambassadors

• Trained school/community advocates

• Incentivised via scholarships or academic credits

CREATIVE COMMUNITY-LED INITIATIVES

1) Art from waste projects

• Public art made from recycled trash

2) Adopt-a-street programme

• Community ownership of public spaces

• Publicly acknowledged partnerships

3) Eco-zones at major events

• Waste-sorting zones at major festivals with live engagement and incentives

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

• Legislative reform: Strengthen NEPA and public health laws

• Public-private partnerships: Mobilise funding and community support

• National campaigns: Mass media blitzes to shift behaviour

• Monitoring and evaluation: Track progress through national dashboards

As always, I am ready to help. It’s not enough to speak passionately and criticise the status quo — we must be willing to be part of the solution. Please feel free to reach out to me for collaboration on this most urgent national matter.

Nicholas McDavid is a Guyanese Jamaican consultant. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or nicholas.mcdavid@gmail.com