More than 19 boats full of volunteers and fishermen took to the waters of Kingston Harbor on Saturday as they worked together to collect tonnes of waste in a race to help clean up the country’s vital mangrove ecosystems. However, despite their hard work, the volunteers were struck by the overwhelming amount of waste around the mangroves and renewed their urgent plea to Jamaicans to dispose of their rubbish properly so as to protect the nation’s marine life.

The Kingston Harbor Clean-up Project (KHCP), in collaboration with the GraceKennedy Foundation, The Ocean Clean-up and Clean Harbors Jamaica, organized The Great Mangrove Cleanup Trash Tournament at the Royal Jamaica Yacht Club with the aim of removing legacy waste (waste that has been accumulated in the environment over time and has not been properly treated or removed) from Kingston Harbour’s mangrove forests and beaches. Volunteers were divided into teams on different boats as they went to different sections of the mangroves in Kingston Harbour, removing litter as quickly as possible while competing for prizes.

However, some volunteers said they were surprised after seeing the large amount of trash they collected.

“I’m shocked to see so much trash going through and very disappointed to see so many refrigerators and other waste stuck in our mangroves,” said Alecia Beaufort, waste manager for Clean Harbors Jamaica Limited.

She urges Jamaicans to be more responsible with their trash and to be more aware of the negative effects of poor trash disposal habits.

“Reuse, recycle and reduce your waste. We have a lot of stuff in storage, we have a lot of stuff right now and I think Jamaicans need to be a lot more aware of how they use plastic, how they throw anything away and so if they could be more aware it would really make a big difference in the project we are doing and in Jamaica to be cleaner,” she told for Jamaica Observer.

Sharing a similar sentiment, GraceKennedy Foundation CEO Caroline Mahfood explained that in the wake of hurricane season, it is important for more Jamaicans to understand how mangroves protect the country’s coastline during natural disasters. She is pleading with Jamaicans to help end what she describes as “a never-ending cycle” of repeatedly cleaning beaches by being more aware of proper littering practices.

“I don’t want to do endless cleaning. I feel like every beach cleanup, all these types of cleanups never end because people don’t properly dispose of their waste upstream. This is what comes through the gutters, down into the harbor and floats over the harbor. We must be proud of our country and not litter and we must be able to have a proper garbage collection system so that we can support people so they don’t feel the need to litter,” she urged.

Mahfood added that much more needs to be done to protect the country’s marine life from pollution.

Meanwhile, co-founder of MDK Advisory and Consulting Limited Deika Morrison, consultants to the Grace Kennedy Foundation on the project, said more work is being done to improve awareness across the country by informing more Jamaicans about what is happening to the garbage them when they take out their trash. remove it. She said it is important to involve children in these awareness activities if there is to be a drastic change in attitudes towards the protection of marine life.

“I think when we have awareness activities like this, people get the connection. We have school tours (where) we take the kids, they stand on the edge of the precipice and they see him go right down into the barrier. We’re trying to make sure there’s awareness, and I’d really encourage everyone to get involved; you will see that we will have other events and other activities. We have a download site and (and) it’s set up so people can come and see what we’re doing, so please interact with us,” she said.

In addition, GraceKennedy Foundation Environmental Education Officer Elizabeth Goodleigh emphasized the importance of the project, explaining that certain areas of mangroves are already dying due to pollution.

“A lot of people I spoke to today said they knew there was a pollution problem but didn’t know the extent of it until they had to physically go out and look at it for the first time from a pollution point of view. view of the boats,” Goodleigh said.

She suggests that more effort be made to create more sustainable solutions to keeping mangroves clean.

“I want us as a country to start thinking about more sustainable options. It is not a sustainable effort for us to continue cleaning (because) no one wants to continue cleaning forever. Ultimately, we want to get to a point where this kind of activity is not necessary, so we need to rethink sustainability and waste management in Jamaica,” she said.

“If you look around, you’ll see a lot of refrigerators and stoves; The reasons why they end up in the abyss is that the NSWMA (National Solid Waste Management Authority) is not mandated to pick up this rubbish from households. It’s actually a category of waste called bulky waste, and although they try to have facilities to dispose of bulky waste, it’s actually a legal obligation to pay a truck to take it to Riverton – and that’s too expensive for some people. So I think we just need to rethink that category of waste and how it’s collected and managed here locally,” she suggested.

Volunteers return to shore with collected trash during The Great Mangrove Clean-up Trash Tournament.

Volunteer Raheem Thomas picks up trash collected from The Great Mangrove Clean-up Trash Tournament held at the Royal Jamaica Yacht Club on Saturday.

MDK Advisory and Consulting Limited co-founder Deika Morrison stands next to some of the trash collected by volunteers during The Great Mangrove Clean-up Trash Tournament.

Volunteer David Sykes returns to shore with trash collected from the mangroves.

MAHFOOD… I feel like every beach clean up, all these types of clean ups never end because people don’t properly dispose of their waste upstream.

Volunteers carry trash back to shore from their cleanup efforts (Photos: Karl Mclarty)