On Saturday October 23rd, over 500 volunteers joined the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) to clean-up the Palisadoes strip in support of International Coastal Clean-up Day. Originally scheduled for September 18th and postponed as a result of Hurricane Ivan, JET accomplished its 11th consecutive clean-up at the strip thanks to the efforts of volunteers, donors and staff.

Twenty nine volunteers were trained as team leaders to monitor the collection of debris and completion of data cards. Volunteers were also stationed at the registration booth, sick bay, water station, lunch and music areas to assist participants throughout the day. Many volunteers were from the University of Technology, University of the West Indies, Shortwood Teachers' and St. Joseph Teachers' Colleges, Stony Hill HEART Academy, members of the Student Environment Network (the youth arm of JET), JET members, service clubs and the general public.

By the end of the day, over 350 bags of garbage had been collected and taken by the National Solid Waste Management Authority. Some of the most numerous items collected included: 1,502 straws/stirrers, 1,592 food wrappers/containers, 2,647 plastic bags and 1,661 caps/lids. As in previous years, the highest volume of debris was plastic, with a total of 6,630 PET bottles. Other types of debris included clothing, toys, fishing nets, appliances, tyres and diapers.

Highlights
Volunteers at the clean-up were visited by recording music artists Sean Paul, Rik Rok and Prince Midas, who gave words of encouragement and urged young Jamaicans to come together for the benefit of the country. This is the second year that Sean Paul has supported beach clean up. In addition, Power 106 FM held an outside broadcast from 10:30am to 12:00 noon, hosted by Ms. Althea Morrison. Interviews were conducted with JET members and staff, music artists, sponsors and volunteers.

Coastal Clean Ups Islandwide
The National Environmental Societies Trust (NEST) is the national coordinator for coastal cleanups in Jamaica and many groups did clean ups islandwide. After the clean-up, NEST compared data from the 2003 and 2004 clean ups. The data showed that the number of volunteers islandwide increased from 1,602 in 2003 to 1,680 in 2004, an increase of 5%. However, despite the increase in volunteers, there was a decrease in the overall volume of debris collected and the distance cleaned. A meeting will be held in January 2005 with local clean up coordinators to discuss this, as well as other concerns such as improper data recording, the tendency of volunteers to litter and the need for properly trained team leaders.

Sponsors
JET would like to say a special thank you to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), NEM Insurance Company Limited, National Environmental Societies Trust (NEST), Jamaica Broilers Group and the Airports Authority for their financial support of this year's event.