Recycling Partners of Jamaica (RPJ) is rallying citizens across the island to take action during Recycling Week, which runs September 21-26.

With activities ranging from coastal cleanup to school drives and community sensitisation sessions, RPJ’s ‘1 Billion & Counting’ campaign aims to mobilise Jamaicans, strengthen partnerships, and accelerate the country’s progress in plastic bottle recovery.

As a lead-in to Recycling Week, RPJ joined forces with the Kingston Harbour Cleanup Project on Saturday (September 20) for International Coastal Cleanup Day at Gunboat and Buccaneers Beach on the Palisadoes Strip. Volunteers are expected to remove thousands of plastic bottles and other waste from the shoreline as part of a broader effort to restore the harbour.

On September 21, the spotlight shifts to Emancipation Park for the annual Guardian Group’s Blue Run 5K, where families, runners, and walkers will participate in a spirited event linking healthy living with environmental responsibility.

Youth engagement takes centre stage on September 22, with recycling receptacle handovers at the Genesis Academy and Constant Spring Primary & Infant School in St Andrew, equipping students to lead recycling drives in their school communities. The following day, Tuesday, September 23, RPJ will host an outside broadcast at Obistan Preparatory School in St Andrew, featuring live interviews and an interactive tent to engage students.

Activities continue on September 24 in St Catherine with a second round of recycling receptacles handovers at the Eltham Park Primary and Cumberland High schools, and a Community Sensitisation Session in Gordon Pen. The sensitisation event will engage residents directly on recycling best practices, demonstrate how the Deposit Refund Scheme works, and encourage greater community participation in the national drive.

Recycling Week then culminates on September 26, with a community bottle drive at Lee’s Food Fair on Red Hills Road, where residents can drop off Polyethene Terephthalate (PET) and High-Density Polyethene (HDPE) bottles and register for RPJ’s Deposit Refund Scheme.

Speaking on the week’s activities, Gairy Taylor, general manager of RPJ, said the programme is about empowering Jamaicans to act. “Recycling Week is about action in every corner of Jamaica – from coastal cleanups to schools, communities, and supermarkets. When we recycle, we protect our environment and create opportunities for families, businesses, and future generations,” he said.

“We are asking Jamaicans everywhere to get involved in their respective communities during Recycling Week. It starts with something as simple as picking up plastic bottles in your community, at school, or on the way to the supermarket. When we collect and sort these bottles, we keep them out of drains and landfills and turn them into opportunities…it’s about small actions adding up to a big national movement,” he pointed out.

RPJ operates Jamaica’s national plastic recycling programme and has already raised the country’s recovery rate for PET and HDPE bottles to more than 40 per cent, well above the global average of 10 to 15 per cent.