Nearly 30,000 bottles recycled under new programme
As the world continues to observe ‘Plastic Free July’, Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) is reporting that in just six weeks since the launch of its environmental initiative, ‘KFTL Go Blue: Recycling Begins with you’, approximately 30,000 plastic bottles (or 970 pounds) have been separated for recycling.
The campaign, which was launched on World Environment Day on June 5, features various initiatives to improve waste management, energy and resource conservation at the facility.
This includes placing colourcoded bins in strategic locations across the terminal to facilitate separation of waste streams by staff and stakeholders.
The separated waste is then collected by KFTL’s designated contractor, Recycling Partners of Jamaica.
“The support has been remarkable so far from both staff and stakeholders,” said Christopher Gayle, environmental specialist at KFTL. “We are cognisant of the fact that waste separation practices are part of an overall behavioural change, which is necessary for us to see real impact, so we will continue to raise awareness so that the efforts are seen not just on the port but also in our wider communities.”
The major objective of the Go Blue initiative is to reduce the environmental footprint of KFTL’s operations through energy/resource conservation and recycling/solid waste management.
In addition, KFTL has discontinued the supply of single-use plastic straws at its canteen facility and is progressing with plans to replace styrofoam food-ware with bio-degradable containers.
The Recycling Partners of Jamaica reported that between March 2014 and March 2017, it collected more than 3.3 million pounds of plastic, or more than 100 million plastic bottles.