We feel the pain of Falmouth Mayor Councillor C Junior Gager, who has signalled that Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC) is gearing to implement tougher measures to punish litterbugs while embarking on a clean-up blitz of Falmouth.

The continued presence of discarded plastic bottles, food waste, and other garbage in Water Square, the bus park, and drains, highlighted by Mayor Gager at last Thursday’s meeting of the municipal corporation, is evidence of a troubling disregard for the environment.

It also raises a serious question: If littering is prohibited by law, why does it continue so brazenly? The evidence on the ground suggests that enforcement has been inadequate to deter offenders.

Laws cannot protect the environment if those who break them face little risk of punishment.

Mr Gager is therefore right to demand greater cooperation from vendors, residents, and business operators, and to plan tougher measures in collaboration with the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), the health department, and the police.

However, another clean-up, no matter how extensive, will achieve little if the same people continue to litter and dump waste indiscriminately once the crews have left.

The authorities must move beyond warnings and demonstrate that the law will be enforced.

Where evidence supports prosecution, offenders should be prosecuted.

Vendors who repeatedly fail to maintain acceptable sanitation standards must also face the consequences.

Public spaces are not private dumping grounds, and the cost of cleaning them should not fall disproportionately on taxpayers and municipal workers.

Against that background, we support the TMC’s proposed initiative to name and shame people caught dumping garbage indiscriminately.

Properly implemented, this could be a useful deterrent and a reminder that irresponsible behaviour carries consequences.

However, any public identification must be based on credible evidence and needs to be handled responsibly, with due regard for fairness and the law.

The ultimate objective must be to stop the offending and bring about a fundamental change in the attitude of people who treat public spaces as dumping grounds, not merely to embarrass people.

Mayor Gager’s criticism of some social media users who highlight Falmouth’s problems deserves a response.

Social media can indeed magnify the town’s shortcomings, sometimes without acknowledging the effort and public funds required to maintain it.

But the people who use these platforms to expose problems should also use their influence for good by documenting littering and illegal dumping responsibly, sharing credible evidence with the authorities, and educating the public about the consequences of these practices.

Let us also be clear: Falmouth’s problem is not unique.

Communities across Jamaica struggle with littering and indiscriminate dumping.

That, however, is no excuse for allowing the practice to persist.

Residents who show such little regard for their surroundings are simply irresponsible and, quite frankly, nasty.

And when they exhibit such antisocial practices while expecting to benefit from tourism they deserve to be called out.

In Falmouth’s case it is a cruise and long-stay destination.

Its streets, public square, and general appearance help shape visitors’ impressions of Jamaica.

A town that welcomes cruise passengers and stay-over visitors while allowing garbage to choke its drains and litter its public spaces undermines its own economic interests and the national tourism product.

Keeping Falmouth clean is not solely the TMC’s responsibility, it is a civic duty shared by every resident, vendor, business operator, and visitor.

The law is there.

It is time for those charged with enforcing it to make it count.