Locals carrying out beach cleaning activities in Salcete flag presence of broken glTeam Herald
MARGAO: Locals who have been carrying out beach cleaning activities in Salcete have raised concerns about the presence of broken glass bottles.Citizens and tourists who visit the beaches for their walks have also expressed fear about the same in view of recent instances where people have had their feet cut by these shards of glass, mainly of broken alcohol bottles.
Annually, Goa spends crores of rupees on beach cleaning but even if the larger pieces of glass are collected and disposed, there will still remain small chinks that can hurt visitors, especially children who play in the sand.
“While there is a ban on drinking in beaches, there has to be swift action to be taken against such persons so that there is some fear in their minds before they discharge bottles on the shores. This is the only way this will stop. There also has to be warning signs placed for visitors until this issue is resolved in the interest of the public’s safety,” said Ketan Naik. Others also called for implementation of other policies.
“My point is there is a law called Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) where the producer is responsible. Why is that not being enforced and producers made to ask consumers for a deposit so that even if an idiot throws the bottle the rag pickers who collect plastic will pick and claim the deposit. Today rag pickers only collect plastic bottles as glass fetches Rs 1 per kg against 14 for plastic,” said Blaise Costabir.
He added that one beer company had a deposit system but the wine shops forced them to stop as other beer companies did not have a collection system.
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