St. William Grant Park in Downtown Kingston came alive today (Thursday, July 31), as the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation (MEGJC) ramped up Plastic Free Summer activities with a  Local Education Drive (LED) under the theme “Break Up With Plastic”.

Teams from the Ministry, as well as its agencies, partners and stakeholders were on location to distribute educational flyers about the impact of plastics on the environment, engage with the public and the Downtown Kingston business community on the Plastic Ban, and share tips on sustainable alternatives to single use plastics.

In a brief address, Permanent Secretary Mrs. Arlene Williams, reminded the public about the harmful effects of plastic pollution on the environment.

“Now plastic as you know, is very harmful to our environment.  It takes many many years to disintegrate.  Our marine life is being affected  by plastic. Our very existence  is being affected by plastic and so the Ministry is pushing the elimination  of plastic and our campaign today is pushing Reuse, Reduce, Refuse and Recycle”, she noted.

For his part, Chief Executive Officer of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Leonard Francis highlighted the adverse effects of  plastics and microplastics on the human body and the environment.

“I am afraid of plastic because I did some research and I’m telling you, it’s a serious thing.   They say microplastics…it goes into your heart,  it goes into your lungs and it goes into every part of you”, he stated.

Adding that plastic is also detrimental to humans if it is burned, Mr Francis encouraged members of the public to ”Break up with Plastic”.

“Everything starts with one person. One person can change the  entire world and I’m telling you, if we just start with you, or anybody here, that makes a big difference”, he said.

Businesses who have adopted plastic-free practices were highlighted and others were encouraged to do the same through targeted outreach.

Other partners and stakeholders involved in the LED included the Jamaica Environment Trust, which donated recycling bins to Kingston High School and eco-friendly food boxes to food vendors; Alter Eco which manufactures sustainable utensils for the Jamaican Market and the Grace Kennedy Foundation, which is leading the charge in the Kingston Harbour Cleanup Project.

ZJ Sparks brought her own brand of flavour to the event, igniting the crowd’s  enthusiasm for eco-friendly alternatives to plastic, while social media influencer Evert “Evy Royal” Johnson helped to spread the message to “Break up with Plastic”.

Plastic Free Summer, is a local initiative by the MEGJC, that was born out of the global observation of Plastic Free July.   It is aimed at heightening public awareness about the Ban on Single Use Plastics, with the goal of  empowering Jamaicans to make eco-friendly choices that will protect the environment as well as their communities.

For more information and to stay updated on Plastic Free Summer activities, follow the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation on all its social media platforms: Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube and TikTok at megjc_jm.