THE recently launched Greening of Negril Solid Waste Management and Recycling Project has commenced the staging of a series of drama skits across Negril to bring home serious issues of waste management in that town and its communities.

Entitled “Clean Up Your Act” the series, which started last Friday, will continue to take its message to the people with four more performances from today at the Whitehall Housing Scheme and tomorrow at the Wetland Mountain Road, each beginning at 4:30 pm.

Recognising the serious implications of health and environmental issues associated with poor solid waste practices, and the concerns of tour operators regarding the appearance of the tourist destination, Negril has taken this issue into their own hands.

The advent of the project has brought together a strong team led by the Negril Chamber of Commerce (NCC), made up of environmental groups, government agencies, the private sector and citizens. The drama group, which consists of animators from the Negril area, has been combing communities with their strong message, to portray the concerns related to poor solid waste management practices affecting the environment and the face of tourism. The drama also points to alternative action such as recycling which will reduce waste and provide employment.

Although many hotels in the Negril area having been complying to green standards, with some winning accolades for being the first in the world to be certified by Green Globe International, other stakeholders in the tourist industry are realising the good sense in the appearance of the Negril environs outside the confines of resorts.

In addition to carrying the message of behaviour change into communities through public education, the project will seek to lobby for an infrastructure that will assist in sustaining proper environmental practices.

In view of this, some of the objectives of the of the broad-based steering committee are to effect a reliable and effective garbage collection system; a recycling centre centre to reduce waste materials going to disposal sites; work with selected schools on solid waste management; and beautifying selected public areas.

The project is being supported by CWIP, an environmental development initiative of the government of Jamaica’s Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ).