National Youth Council cleans Paggee Beach in Port Maria
Aiming to recycle five million bottles in islandwide drive
PAGGEE BEACH in Port Maria, St Mary, was the location where the National Youth Council of Jamaica (NYCJ) launched its GreenPath Initiative recently, as it aims to rid the environment of millions of plastic bottles it is now polluted with.
Over 2,000 bottles were collected on the day at the event, held in collaboration with the St Mary Parish Youth Council, and supported by over 70 persons drawn from other parish youth councils across the island and several community-based organisations in St Mary.
The effort received support from all ages, as children, in some instances as young as 11 years old, accompanied their parents who turned out to support the drive.
“The day was extremely successful,” Jerome Palmer, NYCJ president, told The Gleaner. “This is part of a greater initiative as we do our part to ensure that we realise Vision 2030. The aim is to collect and recycle between two million and five million plastic bottles, and we are extremely confident we will achieve this target.”
Palmer said the NYCJ was dormant for three years and was revived last November when he was elected president. He believes that community-based organisations such as NYCJ can and should play a significant role in reducing crime and violence.
Olecia Robinson, one of the participants in the day’s activities and vice-president of the Portland NYCJ, hailed the GreenPath Initiative and the leadership of Palmer, saying the clean-up would never have been successful without him.
She also saluted the input of Wisynco, which was the major sponsor. Robinson said Wisynco provided all the gear used by personnel doing the clean-up, including T-shirts, garbage bags, gloves, hats and refreshment.
The next environment clean-up will be in March in St James.
Palmer, in the meantime, is calling on community-based organisations and youth clubs across Jamaica to register their clubs on NYCJ’s database at
www.nycjamaica.org. Additional information may be had via email: nationalyouthcouncilofjamaica@gmail.com.