Gov’t Looking at Creating a Culture of Environmental Cleanliness

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the Government will be looking at developing initiatives geared towards creating a culture of environmental cleanliness.

The Minister made the disclosure while participating in International Coastal Clean-up Day (ICCD) activities at Shipwreck Beach on the Palisadoes Road in Kingston on Saturday (September 16).

Noting the amount of garbage removed from various sites on the day, Minister Samuda, said: “We have a huge need for public education and cultural change surrounding garbage disposal.

“We are going to be working with the Ministry of Education [and Youth], social clubs and churches to develop initiatives that truly make the cultural change because one would wonder how we all were in primary school and went from [singing] ‘bits of paper’ to seeing the volume of garbage we have on our coasts,” he lamented.

“We have a lot more waste management and collection to do if we are going to break the back of the scourge of waste along our coastlines. It can’t just be beach clean-ups alone to do this. We have a lot of work to do, and I would say we don’t have a lot of time in which to do it,” he added.

The Government is in the process of procuring 50 additional garbage trucks to more effectively handle garbage collection and waste management.

The Minister commended the thousands of Jamaicans who came out to remove garbage and other debris from the island’s beaches on ICCD.

He said that it was good to see persons from all walks of life contributing to environmental activism and to the symbolism that the day represents.

“For most people here today, it’s not their garbage but it is their beach, and they are showing leadership in saying ‘we won’t allow our natural assets and our coastlines to look the way that it currently does,’” he said.

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) coordinated clean-up activities at various water bodies across the island to mark ICCD.

Among those cleaning the Shipwreck Beach were members of the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), the National Baking Company Foundation, Progressive Grocers of Jamaica Limited, Ministry of National Security, and Scientific Research Council (SRC).