NSWMA Lauds Tourism Sector Recycling Partnership Initiative

The Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) and Recycling Partners of Jamaica (RPJ) are being commended for their Tourism Sector Recycling Partnership Initiative, geared towards reducing plastic pollution in resort areas.

Speaking at a JIS Think Tank on Tuesday (May 31), Executive Director, National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), Audley Gordon, described the initiative as “excellent”.

“We see it as a plus. We never believed that this is a territorial thing and that we have a monopoly. We want that partnership,” said Mr. Gordon.

The NSWMA is the entity responsible for providing solid waste management services to safeguard public health, while helping to create an environment that is healthy and aesthetically pleasing for both residents and visitors to enjoy.

Mr. Gordon added that the authority welcomes any partnership that will lessen the amount of garbage and plastic being accumulated across the island, “once it is moved in a responsible way from the public space and the different communities” to identified drop-off locations.

“We want to hear of more partnerships, and we encourage it because this is our Jamaica and if everybody plays their part, we will have the clean Jamaica that all of us should desire,” he added.

Under the Tourism Sector Recycling Partnership Initiative, the RPJ supplies recycling cages to the participating establishments to store plastic containers, while the TPDCo provides them with collection point receptacles.

Once an establishment agrees to participate in the programme, an agreement is signed signaling a commitment to contact the RPJ for pickup of the separated plastic waste.

Since the pilot, which took place in October 2021, several businesses have come on board to include 12 partners in Ocho Rios, 14 in Montego Bay and one in Kingston, with other partnerships being negotiated.

It is estimated that 40 million bottles will be collected per annum under the initiative.