Jamaica moving to increase collection of plastic bottles for recycling
The Jamaica government says it will be focusing on a Deposit Refund Scheme for plastic bottles, backed by legislation.
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator Matthew Samuda, says the scheme aims to increase the percentage of plastic bottles collected for recycling.
“This statement in no way diminishes the efforts of the plastic manufacturers by way of the Jamaica Recycling Partners initiative or any other recycling companies currently operating in Jamaica. Their efforts are to be acknowledged and congratulated,” he said.
He said, however, that the results of the noble effort are not in line with the country’s national targets of approximately 60 per cent.
“My information is that less than 20 per cent of newly produced bottles are collected for recycling. The USA nationally is only at about nine per cent, so our ambition cannot be based solely on what others do. It has to be based on best practices available to achieve our national aspirations, and our target needs to be above 60 per cent.
“We will ask, over time, as we build out this system, to get a formal declaration of this target in the way we have targets for protected areas. We need formal targets on managing our waste… but that will take some time,” Samuda told legislators last weekend.
He said the government would be working with all stakeholders, including the Opposition, “as we develop the policy, legislation and operational ways”, pointing out that plastic bottles represent approximately 13 per cent of the Jamaican waste stream.
Samuda said although plastic bottles are not banned at this stage, given the current unstable geopolitical environment, they do require and deserve a significant focus from the government.
“In the current unstable geopolitical environment, glass bottles are unavailable in the quantities required by our market. Several manufacturers who use glass and have long-term buying relationships struggle to keep pace with current demand. That means, quite frankly, that at this stage, plastic bottles are not bannable,” he said.
Samuda said the government would re-engage the public to remind persons of the ban on some plastics and the environmental implications.
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