Greenhouse project gets iCool boost

TRELAWNY RECYCLES, a joint project of the Trelawny Parish Development Committee and Trelawny 4-H Clubs, will receive an added boost, thanks to a partnership with LASCO iCool for their Greenhouse competition.

The Trelawny Recycles greenhouse project engages secondarylevel students throughout Trelawny on a plastic bottle drive. Bottles collected will be used to create functional greenhouses. The school with the most functional and creative greenhouse will be declared the recycling champions.

“Through the sponsors, schools are provided with the greenhouse frames, which they will complete using plastic bottles for the beams and other designs. The project is aimed at making each student involved, recycling ambassadors, encouraging their peers, families and communities to become aware and involved,” explained Natanish Hines, parish development officer, Trelawny 4-H Clubs.

Speaking at the launch was environmental advocate Joshua Bailey, outreach officer at the Montego Bay Marine Park Trust, who outlined the severity of the issues surrounding Jamaica’s waste disposal.

“We need to get the word out there about what is happening in Jamaica and how we can help to make it better. On average, each Jamaican produces 2.2 pounds of garbage daily, based on our population, that is approximately six million pounds of garbage, every day. The National Solid Waste Management Authority collects only 50-75 per cent of this waste. That still leaves about 1.5 million pounds of waste in roads, rivers and beaches daily, and of this, an estimated 200,000 pounds is plastic,” said Bailey.