NOT many people noticed it, possibly because it came just ahead of the Christmas holiday and so got lost in all the festivities, but we shouldn’t ignore the information shared at the recent opening of a new plastic recycling facility at Naggo Head, St Catherine, that this country had exceeded the global plastic recycling target.

Recycling Partners of Jamaica (RPJ) Executive Chairman Dr Damien King told guests at the ceremony that, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, about seven per cent of all plastic bottles were being collected here. However, post-pandemic collection has now risen to 30 per cent.

“The global average is 27 per cent, and this understates what we have achieved in the last five years because the market keeps expanding. So, we are collecting 30 per cent of a larger volume,” Dr King said.

It’s a significant achievement and, as minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation Senator Matthew Samuda said, Jamaica should be proud.

Senator Samuda also disclosed that Jamaica is on track to implement a global treaty signed last year requiring countries to collect and recycle 70 per cent of their plastic waste.

This, he said, is a result of the Government’s working relationship with RPJ over the last eight years.

That relationship, we note, has been enhanced by an active public education campaign which, based on the collection data so far, is yielding results.

For instance, Dr King pointed out that five years ago 60 million plastic bottles were collected. That number increased exponentially to approximately 278 million in 2023.

We endorse his appeal to Jamaicans to do more to help create a cleaner country, for, as Dr King said, this is a matter of national pride. But even more important is the fact that proper disposal of waste is vital to preservation of our environment and our health in general.

Waste pollution has been plaguing this country for a very long time. The ban on single-use plastic containers in 2019 has helped and the impending ban on plastic lunch containers will, we expect, further reduce the problem.

However, the problem remains in large measure with improper disposal of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and other such waste which block drains, worsen flooding, and create stagnant water that serve as breeding sites for mosquitoes — purveyors of deadly diseases.

Add to that the practice of discarding old tyres, car parts, refrigerators, stoves, and other appliances in gullies that, in heavy rain, are washed into the sea.

Health experts have often told us that millions of tonnes of solid waste — with non-biodegradable plastics being the biggest headache — are washed into the Earth’s oceans and rivers, with devastating effects on marine life and environment.

The effort by RPJ, and a range of other companies and foundations, to clear our environment of plastics and other solid waste is therefore commendable. Every Jamaican should consider it their duty to support these efforts.

Dr King has told us that RPJ now has access to 31 trucks, and has placed more than 500 cages islandwide for people to contribute plastic bottles. Plus, a financial incentive of $50 per kilogramme is paid for bottles.

We have little excuse to ignore this push for responsible disposal of plastics.