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Dr. Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie, Chief Executive Officer of JET
By Kimone Witter
Chief Executive Officer of the Jamaica Environment Trust, Dr. Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie has expressed disappointment that more garbage than was anticipated was collected during International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day on Saturday.
Dr. Rodriguez-Moodie said the volume of solid waste collected is still being compiled, but it is significant.
JET organised more than 200 cleanups across the island that involved over 500 volunteers.
Speaking Monday on the Morning Agenda, on Power 106, Dr. Rodriguez-Moodie said the majority of the garbage collected were plastic bottles.
"This doesn't differ from year to year in terms of the characteristics of the garbage. The quantity does, and I think that's because in the last two weeks or so we had a bit more rain, and in the latter part of August we had a lot more rain. So...probably...a lot of it just really washed down and it couldn't be handled by the barriers," she reasoned.
The environmental scientist said recycling is not the only solution to the plastics problem, but suggested that encouraging more eco-friendly alternatives, that are affordable and accessible, is the way forward.
"It's not just about the talking. We need to be having investors, manufacturers, create, invest in the more eco-friendly solutions. So right now, for example, if I wanted to have a party and I didn't want to use plastic plates and I wanted to purchase paper plates, I can find paper plates, but they're going to be probably a little bit more expensive."
"If I didn't want to use plastic forks and I wanted to use the wooden bamboo forks, then I could find it. It wouldn't be so easy to find, but it would also be a little bit more expensive. So we need to be looking at these things when we're talking about, you know, like a holistic approach to the plastic pollution problem," she proposed.
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