Solid waste ‘not a today problem’ - JET CEO laments lack of focus necessary to tackle growing pollution threat

A coordinated three-pronged effort involving citizens, industry and the Government is essential if Jamaica is to tackle its growing solid waste management and plastic pollution crisis, Chief Executive Officer of the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) Dr Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie has asserted. 
Speaking yesterday during the virtual launch of International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day 2026, Rodriquez-Moodie said Jamaica has long required behavioural change, solid waste management infrastructure and enforcement of laws. 
“It is not a ‘today’ problem, and there are many solutions. The same solutions have been proposed year after year, but we are just not seeing that kind of focus and we need to see that kind of focus, not just on an individual level to do better, but also at the company level and at the government level,” she said. 
She is advocating for the extension of producer responsibility, requiring companies to take accountability for the products they put on the market. 
“We kind of see this with the voluntary deposit refund scheme going further. We want to see a reduction in the unnecessary single-use plastics and problematic packaging,” she said, adding that sustainable packaging is gaining traction globally, as well as in small pockets locally. 
She urged the Government to create an enabling environment for this to become the norm in Jamaica. 
“We see a lot of ‘People are nasty, people need to containerise their garbage’. Yes, we do have behavioral issues.  There are people who are not putting their garbage in proper locations; but when we actually look at it, we also see where there is a lack of resources for collecting garbage,” she said. 
Rodriquez-Moodie also noted that while recycling has a role to play, “we cannot recycle our way out of the plastic pollution crisis”. 
“The greatest impact comes from using less plastics in the first place, choosing reusable alternatives, and design products that generate less waste,” she said. “Many people don’t realise that plastics are made from fossil fuels. So from production to disposal, plastics contribute to change, and reducing our dependence on plastics in their homes is good for our oceans, good for biodiversity, and good for the climate.” 
Rodriquez-Moodie, in the meantime, said while ICC Day is important, it is only part of the solution. 
This year’s ICC Day will be on September 19. 
Since 2008, JET has been the national coordinator for ICC Day, providing training, supplies and resources for volunteers who remove garbage from beaches, rivers and gullies. 
She said JET’s flagship clean-up will be held at the Palisadoes Go-Kart Track in Kingston and is anticipating up to 700 volunteers. 
Emphasising the impact of ICC Day, she noted that last year, almost 8,000 volunteers took part in 170 clean-ups coordinated by 124 groups across all 14 parishes. Together they removed more than 77,000 pounds of garbage from about 120 miles of coastline. Plastic bottles were the most collected item, underscoring the challenge of plastic pollution across the island. 
“These are not just numbers; they represent changing awareness and growing civic responsibility,” she said. 
sashana.small@gleanerjm.com