 Hello, I'm Shilton Charles, Information and Communications Officer at the Saint Lucia Solid Waste Management Authority. Today I'm going to talk to you guys on the importance of waste management and how it can assist you in managing vector populations in and around your household. As you know, human beings generate waste. This waste material attracts vectors such as mosquitoes, flies, rats and mice by providing them with a food source and or shelter. Did you know that approximately 50% of all household waste consist of organic material such as green waste and food scraps? Diverting such items will eliminate the food source, thus greatly reducing the occurrence of women infestation around the household. One very effective way of doing so is through composting. Here is how to get started. Allocate a small container such as a bin or bucket, place a layer of soil, grass or leaf material to the bottom of the container. This will absorb any moisture produced by the food scraps which would be added later during the process. Chop up your kitchen scraps such as vegetable and fruit peels, small amounts of cardboard etc. Add to your container and mix well. Cover your compost bin with a breathable material such as an old cloth to avoid pests from entering. This also allows circulation of oxygen. Repeat this process daily or when kitchen scraps are available until your container is filled. Mix once every week for an eight-week period and apply a little water if your material looks dry. Allow to sit for another two to four weeks. Your final product should resemble this. Apply this final product to the plants in your backyard garden. In Observance of Vector Control Week, I challenge you to start a simple composting hip at home which by the way can be done on a larger scale. Here is Cecilia Maki to tell you more. Composting is rather simple. You take your refuse from the skins of the fruits and the vegetables and the food you eat and you mix it with a manure from either cow, horse, chicken, whatever animal or you can do a combination of the animal manure and you have to use the skins, those refuse skins in the manure. You mix it with maybe some grass trimmings from your lawn or around your house and you wet it, cover it and you turn it. That's about a six-week process until you have a material that looks similar to dirt when everything has decomposed and you use that as almost like a peat moss. It almost looks like a peat moss and you use that to grow your plants. There are several benefits. You're refeeding the food you're growing with the food you eat. That's one. You're giving the crop a natural substance that helps them not only to grow but to eliminate some of the pests so you don't have to use pesticides. A lot of the times when you use a natural method which is what we've been using for centuries, that is the healthier method to use to grow your crops. It's amazing just to watch life develop in front of your eyes in the form of a plant. Just do it. I'm Shilton Charles from the St. Lucia Soil Waste Management Authority. Thank you for watching the Vectine Council, a closer look.