168 Sites Registered for International Coastal Cleanup Day Jamaica 2018!

Here’s an update on International Coastal Cleanup Day 2018. This year the flagship cleanup in Kingston will be at the Go Kart Track on Palisadoes (turn right just before you reach Norman Manley International Airport). Teams wishing to volunteer at any of the sites must register online by 12:00 noon on September 6!  Here is the link to ALL the island-wide cleanup sites and contacts. NOTE: Registration has closed early for the Palisadoes cleanup, but there are many others in and around Kingston and in every other parish! REGISTER TODAY!

Jamaica Environment Trust

Here’s a short press release from Jamaica Environment Trust (JET):

JET is the national coordinator of International Coastal Cleanup Day (ICC) in Jamaica, which they have been delivering in partnership with the Tourism Enhancement Fund since 2008. Their flagship beach cleanup at the Palisadoes Go-Kart Track is one of a record-breaking 168 cleanups which are scheduled to take place across the island for ICC on September 15 this year.

Programme Director of JET, Tamoy Singh Clarke said, “The number of ICC sites we have this year is unprecedented thanks to the 112 groups which have registered their cleanups with JET. Many of these groups have been coordinating cleanups with us for over a decade, and we are also happy to welcome a record number of 36 new site coordinators to the program in 2018.”

Volunteers at the Palisadoes Strip in 2017. (Photo: JET)

Last year’s local ICC efforts resulted in Jamaica ranking as the 12th largest ICC event in the world, and the largest ICC turnout in the English-speaking Caribbean. This year JET hopes to attract enough volunteers to the event for Jamaica to be placed in the global top ten for ICC 2018.

JET will host its 2018 flagship ICC event at a new site on the Palisadoes Strip this year – the Palisadoes Go-Kart Track. Clarke encouraged interested individuals to register early, “Early registration is important so that we can ensure that there is an adequate supply of gloves, data cards and other materials for our cleanup volunteers.” Teams wishing to volunteer at the JET ICC event must register using the online form on the JET website (www.jamentrust.org) by noon on September 6.

Volunteers at the International Coastal Cleanup Day 2017. (Photo: JET)

The theme for ICC Jamaica 2018 is Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica, and JET will continue to use the event to raise awareness around solid waste management and marine pollution. JET continues to partner with public and private organizations in 2018 to ensure ICC is a success. Longstanding ICC sponsors TEF have been joined in 2018 by Recycling Partners of Jamaica, Jamaica Energy Partners, and the Norman Manley International Airport, while major in-kind donations have been confirmed for the JET flagship event from General Accident, Wisynco, Tru Juice, and Jamaica Producers. For the fourth consecutive year, DFL Importers have donated garbage bags to the ICC Jamaica project.

ICC is the largest one-day volunteer event worldwide. Championed by Ocean Conservancy, ICC involves volunteers from over 100 countries picking up garbage and recording data on what they collect from coastlines every year.

Contact: Tamoy Singh Clarke (469-1311) or Suzanne Stanley (470-7580)

Volunteers at the Montego Bay Marine Park Beach Cleanup in 2017. (Photo: JET)

P.S. Did you know that JET has a recycling depot at its office? For plastic bottles only! It is at 123 Constant Spring Road, Unit 5, Kingston 8, and is open between 8:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m, Mondays to Saturdays.