Vaz banks on refund scheme, laws to stem waste tide
CONCERNS raised by one environmental group in eastern St Thomas about plastic waste believed to be drifting from other Caribbean countries to Jamaica, have drawn the attention of Government minister Daryl Vaz, who says the country must continue to advocate for stronger environmental laws.
Vaz, the minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for the land, environment, climate change and investment, was responding to a story carried in Monday’s Daily Observer which reported that plastic waste believed to be drifting from Hispaniola is impacting the country’s eastern shoreline.
“We are pushing hard to get [the] deposit refund scheme fully implemented that will make plastic bottles valuable by virtue of receiving monetary compensation,” Vaz said in a statement to the Jamaica Observer.
Under that scheme, cash will be given to consumers who return plastic bottles.
The minister first announced the scheme in February 2019. It is intended to reduce littering and encourage recycling.
“Though not confirmed, it is not impossible that waste from other countries end up on our coast and that waste from Jamaica may also end up on other coastlines. We must, therefore, continue to advocate locally and regionally for stronger environmental laws, coupled with public education, compliance, and enforcement, because in the end we are all affected,” said Vaz.
At the same time, he concurred with the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) that the majority of the country’s plastic waste is domestically generated.
“Most of our plastic waste in the sea is domestic, and with the deposit scheme, we are hoping to reduce this dramatically,” he stated.
NEPA had told the Observer that only five per cent of plastic waste impacting the country comes from outside.
Alfred Singh, president of the Eastern Marine Park Committee — the St Thomas-based group which first raised concerns — had said for years, plastic waste has surfaced at Holland Bay with predominantly French labels and a few in Spanish.
Singh theorised that the waste is drifting from Haiti, which, along with the Dominican Republic, forms Hispaniola — the second-largest island in the West Indies.
He explained to the Observer in a December interview that, with the island situated to the north-east of Jamaica, it is likely that Haiti is the source of the problem.
Singh said because Jamaica is influenced by north-east trade winds, not only is moisture being carried from the sea, but also plastic.
“Our prevailing winds in Jamaica is northeast trade winds. Haiti is north-east of Jamaica and the Haitian people speak French. A lot of these bottles that we are getting here, washing up on the shores of Jamaica, [labels] are actually in French. We want to draw the attention of the Government because we want for all of this to stop. Waste disposal in the Caribbean is a major problem and we know the people in Haiti have their challenges, but if their Government could be made aware of what they are doing to us with their plastic, then perhaps Caricom (Caribbean Community) can help them to address it,” Singh stressed.
The waste products include: TORO, an energy drink launched in 2005 in Haiti; Listamilk from the Dominican Republic; Robusto, a popular energy drink in Haiti; and Planeta Azul Agua from the Dominican Republic, among others.