CLOSE to 1,000 volunteers turned out to clean the Palisadoes in Kingston on International Coastal Clean-up Day, which was celebrated this year on September 19.

This, while more than 1,000 other volunteers turned out to clean other beaches across the island, according to information from the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) – national co-ordinator for the day’s activities.

“At JET’s clean-up at Palisadoes, we had over 900 volunteers from schools, service clubs and corporate Jamaica,” said JET’s programme director Carlette Falloon. “Where we used to have schools represented by 10 or so students, this year we had busloads of 100 or more.”

She added that the total number of volunteers islandwide and the amount of garbage collected is still coming in to them, but noted that the tally so far had come in at just over 2,000.

Volunteers not only cleaned beaches, but also collected data on the type and quantity of debris picked up. At most of the locations, they reported that plastic bottles were the most common item collected.

Kerel Samuels, a grade six teacher from Maryland All-Age in Hanover, noted her surprise at the large volume of bottles found on Bull Bay’s beach in Lucea, for example.

“We spent the entire day cleaning the beach and filled several bags of plastic bottles” she said. “We need to spend more time out there to really make a difference because the plastic bottles were too many to collect in one day.”

In St Ann, Alex Lanigan, chairman of the White River/Ocho Rios Marine Park Association, said volunteers collected more than 6,500 plastic bottles in two hours from their sites.

“We only collected that amount because we are going through a dry season. We would have collected a lot more bottles if we had rain because the drains leading from St Ann’s Bay are filled with plastic bottles, and they always end up along the coastline after heavy rains,” he said.

Meanwhile, JET reported much-improved support from corporate Jamaica, which fielded several teams of volunteers and provided refreshment at the Palisadoes. And for the second year running, the islandwide clean-up, which occurred in all but three parishes, was funded by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).

“The environment is part of the product we sell as Jamaica. Our aim is to have Jamaica green and clean.

The incorporation of volunteers, the public and private sector partnerships, and the scientific aspect of data collection, helps us in pollution prevention efforts,” said Ian Neita, executive director of the TEF.

“The TEF is pleased with the day’s events, and we are prepared to continue our association with the Jamaica Environment Trust as national co-ordinator. We congratulate everyone for their effort.”