Somersfield Students Lead Clean-Up Effort, Sparking Call for Environmental Action

Cleaning up: Somersfield Academy students Mackenzie Paul, 12, and Chiemeka Raynor, 11, get into the thick of things by picking up trash around Fort St Catherine as part of the school'[s community service day. The school had student in several locations in St. George's.

June 26, 2013 — St George’s North MP Kenneth Bascome will push for a bottle bill to be implemented to help curb littering in Bermuda. This after a second clean-up in his constituency in three months.

Close to 50 volunteer students from Somersfield Academy collected 60 bags of garbage in two hours from Berry Road to Tobacco Bay yesterday.

Just back from Quebec, where he was impressed by the cleanliness of the province, Mr Bascome said it’s time to resurface the bottle bill.

“We need to go back and create a bottle bill for Bermuda and tack on extra dollars to beverages to be used to pay the rebate. For things like a case of beer the extra cost will be refunded when the empty bottles are returned,” he said.

Stunned by the large number of empty bottles disposed of along the streets, on golf courses and in the bushes, he called on residents to take more pride in their country.

“I’m speaking to the relevant Ministers about it and people will know that I’m not just sitting in Parliament as a seat warmer,” said Mr Bascome.

“And I would like to thank the staff and students at Somersfield Academy for volunteering. Hopefully this is something that may become an annual clean-up at the east end.”

Originally published in The Royal Gazette