Coastal Cleanup Day more than just collecting garbage, says JET
Published:Saturday | August 20, 2022 | 12:08 AMSonae Rose/Gleaner Intern
The Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) is hoping that Jamaicans will increase their knowledge of the devastating effects of improper waste disposal as the island joins the rest of the world in celebrating International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day 2022 on September 17.
Speaking at the launch of ICC Day 2022, which will be observed under the theme ‘Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica’, JET CEO Dr Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie said that day’s activities were important in spreading awareness about marine pollution.
“It’s important when people come out to these events because it’s not just about collecting garbage. It’s also about an awareness opportunity to learn more about the impacts of our waste disposal practices,” she said.
Dr Carey Wallace, executive director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), the event’s lead donor, also noted the significance of keeping the island’s coastlines clean.
“The assets of Jamaica, from a tourism perspective, [include] its natural beauty and, obviously, it makes sense for us to invest heavily in maintaining and protecting that natural beauty,” he said.
Wallace noted that behavioural change was also necessary to combat pollution.
“Protecting the environment is one of the steps, but I am hoping for an overarching change of attitude, change of mindset, recognising the value of what we have and then converting that into wealth opportunities for our people,” he said.
JET Programme Director Lauren Creary said that the organisation has received applications from more than 200 groups interested in participating in ICC Day 2022 and that more than 150 sites have been confirmed so far.
“We’ve gone back to the model of our one-day event to have everyone out on one day and that hasn’t been the case for the past two years and we’re very excited to get back to this model. Based on the registration, based on the excitement, we are set to return to our previous numbers before COVID-19,” she said.
Despite this, Creary said that the volunteers should still be cautious.
“We’re no longer limiting the groups with the number of volunteers that they can have participating, but we do encourage them to be as safe as possible and follow all safety protocols during their cleanups as we still have to watch out,” she stressed.
Mangrove clean-up
JET’s three-hour flagship cleanup event will get under way at the Palisadoes Go Kart Track at 7:30 a.m. on September 17. It will accommodate volunteer groups of up to 60 people and a minimum of five people. Registration begins on August 24.
“We know that Palisadoes Go Kart Track is surrounded by mangroves and it’s often hard to get into the mangroves to collect the garbage that is caught up in there. So, we will be ordering some of those garbage pickers and designating a special operations team to get as much garbage as possible out of those mangroves so we can really be as impactful as possible,” Creary said.
Included in the improvements for ICC day is the Clean Swell app created by Ocean Conservancy, which founded ICC. The app, Creary said, will assist with data collection by eliminating the use of paper cards and allowing for a more streamlined process.
Rodriguez-Moodie noted that data collection is critical.
“ ... Volunteers not only pick up trash. They also collect data on what they pick up. It identifies the activities and the general sources of pollution. The data can also be used for pollution-prevention efforts, it can be used to influence legislation, and we can use it to promote public awareness and education,” she said.