According to the UN Environment Program (UNEP), more than eight million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year, equivalent to dumping a garbage truck of plastic every minute. Plastic also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions at every stage of its lifecycle, from production to disposal.

Meanwhile, a total of 821 pounds of recyclable plastic were removed from the beach on Earth Day 2023.

Those staggering facts contribute to the reason that The Jamaica Environment Trust, by way of its ‘Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica’ campaign plans to host their first 2023 Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica Road Trip.

Under the theme, ‘Bring a Bag a Bokkle’, the event is slated to take place on Saturday (June 17), will be in Portmore, St. Catherine at MegaMart.

The ‘road trip’ encourages Jamaicans to “bring 30+ plastic bottles for recycling” in exchange for a free gift.

Plastic use and its impact

On their Instagram account, Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica said, “Plastics are used every day but take hundreds of years to break down. Plastic pollution threatens human and ecosystem health, negatively impacts important economic activities, and contributes to climate change. It’s time to break the habit by reducing, reusing, and recycling.”

In another post on their Instagram account, Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica said, “Plastic is non-bio degradable, meaning it does not fully break down naturally in the environment, and this poses a significant threat too the marine and terrestrial environment, livelihoods, public health and infrastructure. Let’s continue to #InvestInOurPlanet.

Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica, an initiative led by the JET, is an education campaign aimed at making Jamaican citizens more aware of the impact of poorly managed waste on public health and the environment. It also aims to encourage people to actively participate in the fight against waste by generating less of it and properly managing it.

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