MONTEGO BAY, St James — Panther Corporation is providing 200 jobs with immediate effect for persons in western Jamaica for the construction of the Caribbean’s first solar-powered recycling centre in Montego Bay.

The Canada-based recycling company has invested US$26 million to construct and outfit a 30,000 square-foot modular facility in Retirement, St James.

“We want to provide jobs for the persons within the communities that we will be servicing when our operations begin in September,” the company’s president and director Michael Mosgrove said.

“The first 200 applicants who drop off their resume and commit to giving one day of voluntary service toward a recycling initiative that we’ll set up at a later date, will get a job — it is that simple,” he disclosed. 

The employment canvas includes people from Trelawny, St James, Westmoreland and Hanover. Applicants are encouraged to hand-deliver their resume to Panther Corporation’s office at Sagicor Building (LOJ Plaza) on Howard Cooke Boulevard in Montego Bay by Friday. 

“The one-day voluntary clause that has been attached to this employment drive is to observe how committed applicants are to the process of recycling and to the job that they are applying for. We have various recycling-based jobs available as well as administrative jobs so persons are encouraged to submit a detailed resume and we will match your skill sets with the jobs we have,” the Canadian investor continued. 

After September’s start-up the company’s capacity could see it creating up to 5,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities, Panther officials say. 

Panther Corporation will be recycling paper, plastic, cardboard, medical waste, motor vehicle tyres and food waste at the solar-powered facility. 

“This solar-powered recycling centre in Montego Bay is a perfect fit for Jamaica and for us. Because of the sunlight it allows us to generate our own power source, thus eliminating the cost of paying for electricity, ” the Canadian investor said.

“The demand for recycling is huge in Jamaica and we want to service this demand while helping to preserve the beauty of this country,” he added.