THE public education campaign under the Negril Chamber of Commerce’s Greening of Negril Solid Waste Management and Recycling Project has targeted six schools in and around Negril to heighten environmental awareness. The programme has also introduced into the schools methods of recycling to reduce waste.

The schools targeted are Negril All-Age, Revival All-Age, Green Island Primary, Sheffield All-Age, Whitehall Preparatory and Mount Airy All-Age.

One of the programmes which took the form of an environmental awareness competition on Friday, June 8 at the Norman Manley Sea Park, requested that schools, using the performing arts, compose messages towards protecting the environment.

Under the able adjudication of persons selected from the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), the Negril All-Age School emerged the winner with its catchy song “Negril Green Team” and the poem “Vision”. Second place went to the Green Island Primary School with its poem “Am I An Environmentalist?”; and a medley of songs entitled “Greening, Greening, Greening”. In third place was Sheffield All-Age School with its mini-drama “Clean It Up” and song “There’s Garbage All Around Us.”

In bringing greetings, member of parliament for Western Westmoreland, Wykeham McNeil, urged his audience, which comprised mostly of students, to set an example of practising proper waste disposal.

The winners received Greening of Negril plaques presented by Ray Arthurs, chairman of the Negril Area Environmental Protection Trust (NEPT), and a member of the Greening of Negril steering committee.

The students from all the schools were delighted to receive books courtesy of The Book Merchant, Novelty Trading Company, Sangster’s Book Store and Carlong Publishers (Caribbean) Limited and refreshment was provided by Caribbean Bottlers (Jamaica) Limited (Coca Cola) and Butterkist Limited.

Teachers from the participating schools underwent a six-week seminar in recycled paper making using paper collected from their schools, a craft which they will pass on to their students to reduce waste at source. A variety of textured paper designs, envelopes and shopping bags resulting from the seminar, were displayed by the teachers.

The Greening of Negril programme will also see the completion of a Recycling Centre in Whitehall to accept glass bottles, cardboard and waste oil for recycling. The recycled items will be processed and shipped to overseas markets, with the exception of the waste oil which will be used as fuel locally. The centre also has plans for recycling plastic at a later stage of its development.