Just days ahead of International Coastal Clean-up (ICC) Day this Saturday, when thousands of volunteers will work to clear 142 beach and underwater sites across the island of garbage, one private sector manager is deploring the act of irresponsible garbage disposal, while urging Jamaicans at large to support the one-day initiative.

“Jamaica would not be called the land of wood and water if it were being named today. It would be called the ‘land of soda bottles and styrofoam boxes,’” said Chris Hind, general manager of JN General Insurance Company (JNGI). “Too many people dump their rubbish anywhere that is convenient, and much of this waste ends up along the sea coast.”

A team of 50 of Hind’s staff and their family members were among the volunteers that worked the four-mile Fort Rocky Beach on the Palisadoes peninsula last year, and they are planning to be part of the effort this year as well.

According to data from Ocean Conservancy, the United States agency that coordinates the one-day clean-up project, more than 80 per cent of trash on beaches in the Caribbean comes from the dumping of fast food containers and sports and recreational activities. The garbage remains in the environment for hundreds of years, threatening fish and other marine life.

ICC Day is coordinated locally by Jamaica Environment Trust.

“As an insurer, we at JNGI are involved in insuring the value of assets; however, assets lose their value and become more prone to natural hazards in a degraded environment, and a garbage-strewn beach has a negative impact on the people, as well as the wildlife which use it,” the JNGI head stressed.