Small financial returns for recycling plastic bottles

In a bid to get more Jamaicans enthused about recycling waste, and more specifically, plastic, the Jamaican Government recently announced that it would be committing $75 million towards the implementation of a plastic bottle-deposit scheme.

But Daryl Vaz, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, pointed out that the money would go to the Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica campaign, which will receive financial support of $25 million per year over three years.

However, CEO of the Jamaica Environment Trust Suzanne Stanley believes that if the money is paid to persons for the bottles they bring in, more persons would be interested in making the environment cleaner.

"Of course, if the payout is higher, yes, it will encourage more persons to bring in the plastic bottles. But we don't know yet what the deposit refund scheme is going to look like, so we are waiting on the details before we comment on the amount that people are getting," she told THE STAR.

Currently, a high of $5 per pound is being offered to persons who bring in empty plastic bottles to recycling companies.

At Jamaica Recyclers, very clean bottles will fetch up to $5 or $4 per pound depending on the condition of the empty waste material.

Meanwhile, the Recycling Partners of Jamaica pays out $4 per pound for the plastic bottles.

LONG HOURS NEEDED

This means that persons would have to dedicate long hours to collecting and cleaning bottles in order to earn nominal compensation as a full bag weighing approximately 20 pounds would see returns of between $80 and $100.

However at some other local recyclers, persons are encouraged to drop off large piles of plastic bottles in order to keep the environment clean without expecting compensation for their effort.

Nonetheless, Stanley believes that in order to get more persons actively participating in making the environment cleaner, public education should play a major role.

"You need to educate people about the benefits of bringing their plastics and separating their garbage to make the deposit refund scheme work in the first place. And of course, support that with other solid-waste strategies, which is what the Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica campaign does," she said.