"A THIEF ISN'T A THIEF UNTIL CAUGHT IN THE ACT"

Baku is becoming prettier from day to day. Many streets are not only beautiful, but also cleaner. The work of related authorities is evident. And the very unflattering description - "a city of flying bags", which was assigned to our capital city a few years ago - has lost its relevance, which is good news. Frankly speaking, this description was not very pleasant and was very insulting to a country with rich history and active tourism. At the same time, it is impossible to say that the city's problems in this area are fully resolved. In some parts of the city, especially in the suburbs, bleak mountains of litter and trees "blooming" with a luxuriant variety of multi-coloured plastic bags significantly damage both the appearance and prestige of the capital.

Of course, we cannot say the same about the city centre, which can even be called almost exemplary for its clean streets, the number of cleaners or modern equipment and the "quota" on dustbins. But once you go beyond the usual tourist routes - the narrow streets, we see the same depressing picture. In the periphery and in residential areas, especially in crowded areas, near metro stations and bus stops, there are still bottles and other household waste lying all over the place. There is a double situation here, and as always, it becomes a source of questions that set our teeth on edge.

"Who is to blame?" and "What to do?"

The rapid growth of the city in recent years has led to the population to increase dramatically and, consequently, the volume of the products they consume and the litter they generate has grown. If there is any quota for housing and communal services or the number of dustbins, clearly the growing number of people was not considered when it was established. This is evidenced by many overflowing bins and dumpsters.

Often, especially in the summer time, we see citizens, young people and people of quite respectable age, and most distressingly, children drinking a bottle of soft drink or water in the heat and not bothering to put it in the nearest dustbin - deftly placing it on a nearby curb or throwing it right under their feet. Conscious people, either because they are ashamed or worry about the cleanliness of their home town, carry the litter they "produce" in their pocket, purses or hands.

As for all the others, if fifteen or twenty years ago, a child who threw garbage on the ground caused sharp criticism and reproachful glances, now he will not get even a hint of reproach.

As has already been said, it is becoming more and more difficult to clean up the fast-paced city. To solve this problem, it is easier, of course, not to make a mess. But how can you make adults keep clean?

To this end, in June 2012, amendments concerning littering were made to the relevant legislation of Azerbaijan. The essence of the amendments is to fine those who do not put litter in dustbins and dumpsters - for citizens and individuals the penalty is 20 manats, for officials - 100 manats and for legal entities - 500 manats.

The next amendment concerns the distance that must be taken into account when placing dustbins for household garbage. The penalty for officials is 500 manats and for businesses - 1,000 manats.

It would seem that it is a key solution to the problem of unconsciousness citizens, which will finally teach them to respect other people's work and keep clean. What can be more effective than a fine? But this raises another difficulty: what agency should monitor the issue of household waste on the streets?

It is logical to assume that the executive authorities of Baku, which, in fact, control the housing and communal services, know the answer to this question, as well as to the question of what the standards are for the distance between the dustbins, the violation of which is fraught with considerable fines. However, the press service of the executive authorities said that they do not deal with penalties for litter dumped in the wrong place and asked us to contact the JSC Tamiz Sahar (Clean City). But they told us that this organization was created to manage, recycle and process household waste, not to monitor cleanliness.

Neither the Ministry of Economic Development nor the Ministry of Environment took responsibility for enforcing the rules of hygiene and cleanliness in the city. After careful consideration of the law, we found that the Interior Ministry is responsible for administrative violations mentioned in the above paragraphs of the law.

Asked whether their Interior Ministry employees deal with penalties for the pollution of the city, the press service of the Ministry said that it is regulated by divisional inspectors. Moreover, the offender must be caught "in the act", which is quite difficult. At the same time, the Interior Ministry press service refused to provide statistics about such violations and penalties. On the other hand, none of the R+ respondents has seen relevant officials of the Interior Ministry trying to penalize people for littering. And the amount of garbage on the streets and beaches of Baku shows that the enforcement of the law is left to chance.