Na-akwalite omume na-adigide maka njem nlegharị anya Jamaica

The Jamaica Tourism Product Development Company Limited (TPDCo) and Recycling Partners of Jamaica (RPJ), today penned a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to concretize a partnership to promote recycling within the tourism sector at a special signing ceremony held at the head office of RPJ, Kingston.

The main purpose of the MOU is for both organizations to collaborate to promote the importance of recycling and the economic and environmental benefits of sustainable tourism to the nation. It will see the organizations distributing recycling bins, cages, and drums to tourism entities in the Kingston and South Coast destination areas.

Dr. Damion King, Chairman, RPJ and Mr. Wade Mars, Executive Director, TPDCo signed the MOU on behalf of their respective companies. While Gary Taylor, newly appointed General Manager, RPJ and Ms. Sheryl Lewis, License Processing and Registration Manager and Attorney-at-Law TPDCo, witnessed the signing. 

“What we are engaged in is truly a national effort to look after our environment. As an organization we are dissatisfied with the improper disposal of plastic, and we are making concerted efforts to alleviate this.  As a society are taking responsibility to take our plastic bottles out of the normal waste-stream and to make it available for recycling,” said Dr. King.

According to Dr. King: “We are doing this for ourselves, but we are in full sight of the importance of the face and the image as a country that we present to the world.”

“We are proud of our natural beauty, and we want to ensure that visitors see, enjoy. and take part of our natural beauty and that is the link with tourism.”

TPDCo’s Executive Director Mars in his remarks said, “for us to partnering with the Recycling Partners of Jamaica is very important from a sustainability standpoint for the tourism industry.  The product is Jamaica itself so once we can have some level of sustainability then it all goes well for the long-term nature of the product. Even though this is a TPDCo/RPJ effort, we want this to be an all-Jamaica effort. "

Since the launch of the initiative in late September 2021 in the Ocho Rios, Montego Bay, Kingston and Negril destination areas, there has been great reception and an increase in sustainable practices from both locals and visitors. TPDCo and RPJ to date have attracted a total of 41 partnerships throughout those destination areas and distributed over 184 branded bins.