KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) – The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is urging people to adopt responsible solid waste management and disposal practices.

Speaking with JIS News, Public Relations Officer at NEPA, Deleen Powell, noted that many people are of the perception that it’s okay to just throw garbage on the ground if a bin is not readily available.

She said there is also the view that littering creates work for street cleaners and also provides a source of food for animals.

“We need to tackle these negative perceptions and wrong ideas. Nowadays, 80 to 90 per cent of our garbage is plastic and styrofoam and such things that do not break down,” Powell pointed out.

“We want persons to change the way they think about garbage, change the way they dispose of their garbage, and assume that personal responsibility when it comes on to disposal of garbage,” she added.

Manager of the Ecosystem Management Branch at NEPA, Andrea Donaldson, noted that not only is littering unsightly but it affects the land and marine environments.

“We have found seabirds with plastic caps in their stomach and there are the rubber-back turtles that eat plastic bags believing they are eating jellyfish and they die… so we want to bring to the public the need for proper disposal of your waste,” she said.

She noted further that there are instances when Port Authority has had to stop vessels coming in because of the level of garbage in the harbour. “Anything in the gully goes into the harbour and if that damages a vessel, then that is a cost to Jamaica,” Donaldson pointed out.

She is urging people to consider composting and recycling as options for managing their waste.