NEGRIL’S business community and environmental groups are spearheading a recycling project aimed at implementing workable garbage management systems in that tourist resort town.

The finishing touches are being applied to Phase 1 of the Negril-Recycling Centre in Hanover, which should start re-processing discarded glass bottles and cardboard sometime this month.

The Environment Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have poured $8.6 million into the project and already, hundreds of bottles of varying sizes, shapes and colours, as well as cardboard from hotels, supermarkets and other commercial stores have been collected by the chamber.

The bottles will be sorted according to colour and then crushed. The re-packaged cardboard and crushed bottles will be collected by Garbage Disposal and Sanitation Systems (GDSS), a partner in the project, for export to existing markets in Trinidad and other countries.

In another phase of the project, used engine oil will be collected from factories and garages and recycled for sale.

Manager of the Negril Chamber of Commerce, Jean Jackson, tells JIS News that preliminary discussions have been held with Frome Sugar Factory, which will purchase much of the recycled engine oil for use in the factory.

“Following a recent feasibility study by the Negril Chamber of Commerce and the environmental groups, a decision was taken to recycle these products as part of the broader Greening of Negril Project,” she explains.

“This recycling project is expected to become a model for Jamaica, as it will be the first of its kind to be attempted in the country. I see it becoming a new commercial enterprise for some persons in the country and a good example of community action in environmental management,” Jackson adds.

The need for proper management of garbage is a major issue that needs urgent attention, she notes, adding that an application to the Ministry of Land and Environment for long-term lease on the land where the recycling centre is located, has been approved.

“The GDSS has prepared an operational plan, and most of the equipment and machines for the project have been purchased and will be installed over time for the full operation of the centre,” Jackson points out.

She says there is “tremendous community support” for the project so far, and the residents are being encouraged to separate the target materials from their garbage and deliver them to the centre. This, she notes, will greatly reduce transportation cost.

Jackson expects that as soon as the project becomes fully operational, the volume of material collected will be doubled, as hotels and other large establishments have pledged to undertake the direct delivery of material to the centre on a regular basis.

The GDSS will make direct payments to the project for materials exported to markets abroad, and this will form the basis of funding for the operations, she explains. She adds that the Negril Chamber of Commerce will be looking seriously at the recycling of plastics as part of the long-term expansion plan for the centre.

Project manager, Herman Burris, of the Negril Chamber of Commerce, foresees a bright future for the project.

“The interesting thing about this project is that it involves the entire community and it will work in the interest of all,” he said. “It will greatly benefit all business interests, as well as the small man. It will benefit hotels, supermarkets and other entities, because sending their garbage here will be significantly less than transporting it to the Retirement dump all the way in St James.”

Executive director of the EFJ, Selena Tapper, says the project will contribute significantly to reducing garbage pile-up, especially in urban areas around the country.

“The recycling project has an education component also, in which citizens will be educated on the importance of sound garbage management. We hope that the result will not only be a reduction of the negative impact of garbage on the environment, but turning what is now waste into an economic benefit,” Tapper says.

She points out that this project has received financial support from the EFJ because of its potential to improve waste management around the Negril area. She also believes that the possible economic benefit to the community is an added selling point.

“Funding from the EFJ normally seeks to better equip Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and civic organisations such as the Negril Chamber of Commerce, to effectively carry out the work they do which supports the EFJ’s mandate. During the process, some organisations may be empowered to pursue some of their operational costs, thereby reducing their dependence on grant funding,” Tapper explains.