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Environmental Minister: Help Us To Create A Clean And Green Bahamas

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Department of Environmental Health is stressing the importance of proper waste disposal and collection.

Published

8 months ago

May 1, 2025

Berthony McDermott

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Department of Environmental Health is stressing the importance of proper waste disposal and collection.

They held a meeting this week to speak with residents and garbage collectors.

In this edition of Sustainability First, we hear about the issues and how we can all play a part in keeping our island clean.

Vaughn Miller – Minister, Environment and Natural Resources
“If you see something, say something. Help us to create a clean and green Bahamas. Cleanliness is still next to godliness.”

The Department of Environmental Health Services is taking a firm stand to ensure garbage collectors and contractors are compliant with regulations and perform their duties as they are contractually obligated.

Proper waste disposal is crucial for protecting the environment, preserving public health, and promoting economic sustainability.

It also minimizes pollution, reduces the risk of diseases, and creates opportunities for resource recovery and recycling.

To this end, the department met with the garbage contractors and residents to ensure compliance and to tighten any loose ends on both sides of the partnership…

United Sanitation Services and Dean Waste and Recycling owner Henry Dean shares what his employees come across when collecting waste.

Henry Dean – Owner, United Sanitation Services
“Our guys are confronted with filth, human feces, and urine, and it’s really bad, and so we ask the ministry or the department to do a public education that homeowners will understand what’s happening and help the process.”

Dean also highlighted another issue with apartment complexes.

Henry Dean – Owner, United Sanitation Services
“People with four- and five-apartment units expect service. The government says one, two, three. Anything beyond three, you have to pay to have that service done and there is a constant complaint. There is an occasion more often than not that people do cooking at home, create a huge amount of garbage and [keep] calling to [complain] that the garbage is not being collected, when in fact it is collected, but they generate extra garbage and want it done freely.”

Residential garbage collection happens twice weekly, while bulk waste collection occurs once per week.

Dean says garbage collectors must also pull up their socks, adding that a committee will address the matter.

And according to the Environment Minister, Vaughn Miller, we can all play a part in keeping our island clean.

Vaughn Miller – Minister, Environment and Natural Resources
“For motorists like to pedestrians, where you notice that there is litter, wherever you notice pollution is occurring, where you notice these infractions, where you notice these negative occurrences, please do not hesitate to inform us and that number is 502-5420.”