MONTEGO BAY, Jan 11 (JIS) – Western Parks and Market (WPM) Waste Management Limited will be undertaking a plastic bottle recycling project in two communities in St. James.
The initiative,
to be launched on Valentine’s Day, February 14, is intended to reduce the
volume of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles deposited at disposal sites in
the parish.
It also
forms part of efforts to heighten public awareness about the importance of
preserving the environment.
Regional Operations Manager at WPM, Garnet
Edmondson, told JIS News that the project will primarily entail scheduled
collection and sorting of plastic bottles in the communities, which are to be
identified.
“With
that removal process, they [residents] will store and keep [the bottles] and we
[WPM] will collect [those] every two weeks; that will be a part of the build up
to our limited separation programme,” he explained.
The Operations Manager said the agency is also in
the process of procuring a truck, “which will be solely dedicated to the collection
of those plastic bottles”.
“So our celebration of Valentine’s Day is loving
the environment [by] collecting these bottles, because they can damage the
environment,” he added.
Mr. Edmondson said WPM will also be embarking on
a public education campaign in schools, aimed at fostering a more positive
approach to the recycling initiative.
“We will be going into schools to have
participation by students. So we will teach them the importance of how they [should]
handle their waste,” he informed.
Mr. Edmondson further advised of plans to erect
waste separation bins across St. James to encourage recycling.
“Planning [for this] has already started. Further
down in the year, we will be speaking with the Tourism Product Development
Company (TPDCo) [regarding] sponsorship of some waste bins,” he said.
Mr. Edmondson indicated that the design of the
bins will be different from the regular containers, “because we want them [to
have] three compartments where you have normal waste, organics and plastics”.
Meanwhile, the Operations Manager said WPM will
be encouraging market vendors and other stakeholders across western Jamaica to
resort to composting, which is a form of waste disposal
where organic waste decomposes naturally under oxygen-rich conditions.
Mr. Edmondson said the Rural Agricultural
Development Authority (RADA) has been engaged to heighten farmers’ awareness about
the benefits to be derived from composting, adding that “we will [also] be
engaging our vendors and all other stakeholders [regarding] collecting organic
material”.
“Our vegetable markets [in particular] will come
into play, because it is not very viable to be putting organic material into
the landfill; what it does, is enhance the greenhouse gases,” he informed.