Earth Today | ‘Away is a place’

THE JAMAICA Environment Trust (JET) is challenging the public – individuals and organisations alike – to take stock of what happens after their solid waste leaves their hands with the observance of International Coastal Clean-Up (ICC) Day this weekend.

The challenge to become more aware and to translate that awareness into actions that better serve communities and the environment is reflected in the theme ‘Away is Place’.

“[The theme] came from the fact that it is a phrase we use all the time. We say, ‘throw it away’, but we don’t give it a second thought,” JET boss, Dr Theresa Rodriguez Moodie told The Gleaner.

“People will, [for example], come to the clean-ups and say, ‘I throw away my garbage, and it is other people’s garbage that is ending up here’. But where is away? Really, we are asking people to stop and give it some thought, to think about where it – this ‘away’ – is,” she added.

She noted that this is important since ‘away’ is actually a real place, “not an abstract concept”.

“It is a gully, a beach, a mangrove,” she noted, explaining that while some individuals dispose of their solid waste responsibly, others face challenges, including limited disposal facilities and infrequent waste collection.

These challenges, Rodriguez Moodie added, are compounded by the sheer volume of plastics, which presents a clear and present danger.

“Everybody has a role to play,” the JET boss said, noting that prevailing challenges with solid-waste management and the associated pollution make a clear case for a more circular economy that looks at solid-waste management from cradle to grave, recognising that waste can have “a long shelf life”.

She noted that this includes stronger action to implement extended producer responsibility (EPR), a policy approach that makes producers responsible for their products along the entire lifecycle, including at the post-consumer stage. According to information from the United Nations Environment programme, EPR “shifts the burden of managing certain end-of-life products from municipalities and taxpayers to the producers who place those products in the market”.

Meanwhile, volunteers from across Jamaica will be engaged at more than 170 clean-ups this Saturday (September 19) as they work with communities in celebration of ICC 2026. They will remove waste from beaches, rivers, gullies, and other waterways. They will also record the volume of waste collected.

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