Behind the glitz and glamour of Reggae Sumfest, organisers of the event had no fear “getting their hands dirty in the name of the environment,” Downsound Entertainment boss, Joe Bogdanovich said, following the successful second staging of Catherine Hall’s beach clean up held on June 18.

Expressing excitement over last weekend’s clean-up-turnout, Bogdanovich noted that the scores of volunteers who turned up, came for the right reason.

“I think it is exciting to be here with this group of environmental conservationists. This turnout represents a whole lot more people than when we did this back in 2019.  These volunteers are all here for the right reasons…playing their part in the protection of the environment,” he explained.  

The Downsound CEO went on to laud patrons for coming out despite the rainfall which engulfed the St. James capital days prior.

Apart from Downsound Entertainment organisers, and the Recycling Partners of Jamaica (RPJ), with whom they have partnered, non-governmental organisations, governmental organisations, entertainers as well as several participants from sectors of Jamaica’s second city—St James Municipal Corporation and its junior councillors, Jamaica Hotel and Tourism Association (JHTA), Margaritaville, WPM Montego Bay, Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Island Strains and Pepsi—volunteered their services.

“This is what it is supposed to be…unity from all concerned: entertainers, the government, youth, environmentalists and all the supporting people. Reggae Sumfest has been a staple for the residents of this parish and city and this beach clean-up is just another way of reaching out to the community as good corporate citizens,” Bogdanovich stated.

Staying true to their commitment to keeping the environment clean, Bogdanovich explained that he hopes this effort will encourage citizens to be more environmentally aware.

Candice Ming, marketing and public relations manager of RPJ, also noted that the festival’s nature provides the perfect foundation to immediately remove plastic bottles before they become an environmental challenge.

“Since the reopening of the entertainment and sporting sectors, we have decided to add those events as a source for the collection of plastic bottles,” she started.

Continuing: “We did a pilot at the CARIFTA Games in Kingston in April and it proved to be a major success so when Sumfest reached out to us we did not hesitate to get on board.”

In all, promoters of the event removed close to one thousand kilograms of plastic waste from the Catherine Hall Beach in Montego Bay.

Reggae Sumfest is slated to make its return this summer from July 18 through to July 23.