Large Turnout of Volunteers cleans Palisadoes!

Approximately 450 volunteers participated in the Jamaica Environment Trust’s (JET) 13^th annual beach clean-up of the Palisadoes Strip last Saturday.  The event was in observance of International Coastal Clean-up Day, which is celebrated in more than 60 countries worldwide.  

Volunteers collected 260 bags of garbage, mostly plastics.  Of this 3,479 were plastic bottles and 2,819 were bottle caps.  Other items collected were plastic bags, plastic utensils, refrigerators and tyres.  The plastic bottles were recycled through the small recycling depot operated by JET. 

Children picking up garbage along the Palisadoes - September 2006 (Photographer Lenox Quallo)

JET is also calling on the government to implement an islandwide recycling programme for PET plastic bottles, mostly soda and transparent juice bottles.  Approximately 200 volunteers at the beach clean-up signed the recycling petition. The signatures will be sent to Minister Dean Peart in the Ministry of Local Government and the Environment.   

According to Diana McCaulay, Chief Executive Officer of JET, over 200 signatures have already been submitted to Minister Dean Peart in the Ministry of Local Government and the Environment and to date nothing has happened.  She says that, “We will continue advocating for a recycling programme in Jamaica until the government implements one.”  

She went on to say, “The improper disposal of plastic bottles is a big problem in Jamaica.  As in previous years, data collected from beach clean-ups of the Palisadoes Strip show that plastic bottles account for most of the garbage.   Last year when we did the clean-up after heavy rains, we collected 4, 500 plastic bottles.” 

William Samuels, member of the youth organization, Children First said, “Before the beach clean-up I had no idea that so many different types of plastics could be recycled.  I think this is something that the government should invest in so we will have less plastic bottles washing up on our beaches.  If nothing is done, this will come back to hurt us as  overseas visitors will not come here if we have too much garbage on the beach.”  

The data collected will be sent to the Ocean Conservancy in the United States, the international coordinator for International Coastal Clean-up Day, which will include it in their database on marine debris worldwide.    

This year’s beach clean-up was sponsored by the Airports Authority Jamaica, NEM Insurance Company Ltd., Jamaica Broilers Group Ltd., The Gleaner Company Limited, United Nations Environment Programme, Jamaica Energy Partners, National Environmental Societies Trust and other members of corporate Jamaica. 

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