Thank you for watching! ⚠watch out for impersonator who replies with some "whatsapp" number in the comments pretending to be me. It's not me! * ► Want to help Jamaica fight plastic? Take action now and join "Jamaica with irie" Recycling team here: www.irielab.com/recycling ►To support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/jamaicawithirie ►To contact Recycling Partners of Jamaica: recyclingja.com/ NOTES: ➡please check the description for more details and links to resources ➡the card used in the video as an example is NOT a valid card (I made sure I used the one that has expired!) ➡I wonder if you have reverse vending machines for plastic bottles in the USA? The example I used in the video is from Australia. * Kindly note, I never publicly share my phone/whatsapp number. To know if the reply is really from me or from somebody else - just click the logo image and see where it takes you. If it's me - it will take you to my youtube channel :) If it's not me, it will take you to some random channel with hardly any subscribers.
I saw the problem when I was in a supermarket in Portmore and saw how everything on the shelves were in plastic. I do my part by not bring in anything in plastic into Jamaica. I leave all packaging in the country I purchase goods I bring there including bedding. There should be a slogan" Remove your plastic before you ship" Putting a recycle factory in Jamaica is not good for the environment. Respiratory illnesses and cancer would be through the roof. People have to change their habits. Why did they stopped using glass soda bottles? They use to collect and sanitized them. It worked.
Great point on those living abroad taking initiative to not send unnecessary plastics (as well as other forms of garbage) to the island to begin with. I recently packed a barrel, and chose to spend a little more on PAPER bubble wrap (to protect some breakables) instead of the much cheaper plastic bubble wrap. We have to realize and believe that every little step each of us takes can help.
@@faithm2535 if you didn't next time remove the bedding from the packaging too and tags from clothes. They can be put in the pillowcase that comes in the set. Only liquid should stay in plastic and seal tightly with tape to prevent spills. It helps alot and the goods weigh less. Custom will also think they were used so the fees are less. We all have to do our part.
Persons like yourself is why I am a proud Jamaican. As you always show the good here, even when highlighting a problem, unlike traditional media. Makes me remember our motto of out of many one people. Continue doing what you do to bring out the jamaican lifestyle as a person who is jamaican by love.
Congrats on your much-needed work. Keep it up and thanks for sharing the need of the recycling of plastic as waste. I hope the rest of the Caribbean will follow suit. Thank you.
LOVE that idea. The recycling partnership company highlighted in this vlog can stat such a recognition program to further encourage citizens to become more active participant in the effort.
This makes me hopeful. I almost didn’t choose to come back to Jamaica to live because I was so tired of seeing all of the garbage (plastic especially) everywhere. I know I will be that person when I move back who is constantly collecting bottles. When we bought our land my biggest concern was the environmental impact and how would we recycle or deal with waste. Growing up Rasta I learned how to do without these things but now everyone uses bottled water which was not a thing in the 1980s. Thank you again Irina, because I love that place so much and this helps me to have a plan.
@GWB one way you can help is to remove all goods from the packaging if you are shipping a barrel or bringing stuff in suitcase. Everyone wins in this situation. The weight is less and it won't get in the country. It's amazing how much difference the stuff weighs when taken out of the package. Price tags add weight to goods too. Try and leave all packing papers,boxes and plastic in the country they were purchased it. I've also taken back packaging with me if I couldn't transport it there. I don't want Jamaica to end up like Indonesia.
I know when I purchase a home or move into a neighborhood I will do the exact same. I have been trying to figure out what I will do with all the garbage I collect. I love Jamaica as well, but can not stand the plastic. Everywheee I go when I am there I just want to clean it up! Top three things I don’t like about Jamaica
This production quality is better than more established local media by far! Thanks for illustrating how it's done. So tired of the lazy, low quality content in Jamaican media. I can see that they are trying, but it's still not good enough. I'm sure the excuse has always been that there is not enough money for high quality content (the excuse for everything of low quality in Jamaica). You are showing what can be done on a small budget, with good skills and lots of imagination. It's time for us to accept that we are competing internationally and rise to the challenge and stop griping and complaining about how things should be easier. Thank you so much for this!
Wow.! I just was in Jamaica and when I got back home . I asked my kids who really enjoyed their trip and can not wait to visit again. What stood out one told me all the trash on the ground the plastic . I would love to be apart of the campaign and maybe my kids can volunteer a week in the summer how do we help? I love sweet Jamaica 🇯🇲. The people are so nice and the island is so beautiful!! We would love to help.
The an unfortunate part of the culture to be mi full about where garbage is thrown….in the olden days when the population was much smaller and most of what was being discarded was natural materials that would decay fairly quickly, it didn’t matter as much, but time has changed, and the culture needs to evolve as well.
Thank you for raising this extremely important issue. I hope that Jamaicans take up the challenge to get involved locally. This should be a Jamaican tv documentary, and essential viewing in schools. I live in the UK but would love to know how I could get involved. Recycling is one of the topics that I am passionate about.
@Christine S one way those in the diaspora can get involved is to not bring anything in plastic or cardboard board to the island if you are going there or shipping goods in a barrel.Remove them from the packaging and leave the packaging in the country you are residing it. Tell others too. If it's unavoidable take the plastic back with you. When on the island try not to consume food in plastic. That's going to be a challenge especially with water. Foreigners can bring water bottle and put water in them then freeze and take on their road trips. The heat will melt the ice.
If the stores that sell products in plastic bottles were to charge a deposit and also serve as redemption centers, perhaps more people would return used plastics and collect the deposit refunds. THEN there would be more plastics to make it economical for recycling plants to exist in JA.
I have always wondered how Jamaica cope with all their plastics.. the good to see how far advanced they are in coping. I like partnerships between the government and the private sector..now we need an intense public campaign and education programme to make our citizens aware of the problem and how they can help..thank you for another excellent vid.. blessings ❤️🇯🇲
I’m impressed by the existence of the partnership, but their level of “advancement” needs to be measurable. On recent visits to the island, I stayed in more than one hotel where I saw no evidence of plastic bottle recycling…I.e. no containers for guests to place bottles in for recycling (which means, the bottles they use are being placed in regular garbage). I also saw many examples of shops and venders still handing out plastic bags. On the good side, I didn’t see any plastic straws.
@Faith M they need to bring in stricter regulations for these entities, backed up by heavy fines..it's the only way they will do their part..hit them in their pockets ❤️🇯🇲
I am for this move , what I am suggesting is that whenever one purchase anything in plastic bottle they pay for the bottle which can be redeem on the return of the bottle, that could be an incentive to return the bottles. Here we see that with cooperation from the populace we can solve problems. I am indeed very encouraged by these efforts.
Another high quality programme. when i was young we all drank tap water and everything was in glass bottles. I pray that the passion and concern for Jamaica is transferred to all those who reside in that beautiful land.
To retain some plastic from the collected waste, using a sheet press, it can be turned into 30mm thick sheets or extruded tubes for furniture. OneArmy produce a press which does this. I've seen workshops in Boipeba in Brazil demonstrate how the plastic waste can be transformed into products made by fairly low skilled people to sell. I'm pretty confident that with Jamaican ingenuity, a press can be made locally, if it's too costly to buy.
Agreed. I appreciate those who have concerns about possible harmful emissions from having a plastics factory on such a small island, but perhaps there are different manufacturing techniques that are less problematic.
This is commendable. I remember hearing a little jingle on the radio about Recycling Partners of Jamaica ... Putting plastic in it's place but never thought much into it. The focus here is just plastic but I think a total approach to waste management need to involve separation of garbage of all kinds. I think in some parts of Europe this is done. The money will certainly incentivize Jamaicans reminiscent of the times when we used to recycle glass bottles for Diageo and put them in crates to give back to the factory at a cost. For some reason, this is no longer popular probably it was discontinued but if we can get our people, all our people, to separate the garbage it would help tremendously in keeping the environment clean. Littering the gullies is another issue that really needs to be addressed. If we can appeal to the better part of those that litter, it can go a far way. (I wonder how did Singapore achieve high standard maintaining a green environment)
Capturing wayward plastic containers feels like an impossible mission. It’s almost poetic, the way that, for all its flaws, the (mostly) free market system itself is recycled, converting an externalized cost into a closed loop in which everyone benefits. I remember seeing a plastic debris collection system in which a big mesh bag was tied to the discharge pipe from a gully and when it rained, the stream of water washed dozens of plastic bottles neatly into the bag. The best solutions are often so simple! Best of luck in your community engagement, Irena. This was such an encouraging video. Bravo!
Agreed about the best solutions often being simple, but often overlooked. I have wondered why more plastics isn’t being recycled to make things like fence posts, vine support, etc, to be used on farms or residential yards, instead of constantly cutting down young trees. Or various other structural things like making benches for public spaces, etc. Imagine most of Jamaica rusty zinc fences replaced with vinyl fence. Even that Negril sign could have been made out of recycled plastic.. 😁. So many missed opportunities….
I live in Trelawny and I would like to stop complaining and be part of the solution….Is there a recycling drop off center near Trelawny? Thank you for this great video, it gives a lot of hope…. I lived in two countries in Africa- Ethiopia and Djibouti for a year and plastic pollution in Jamaica is nothing compared to what I have seen in those countries, it was overwhelming.
I wonder what plastic pollution is like in Rwanda…the African country that is now well known for being the cleanest country in Africa. One of my dreams is for Jamaica to wear that label as well…cleanest island in the Caribbean, and even the world.
I really like this video. From I was a youth growing up in Montego Bay, I've been trying to get people in my community to stop polluting the place with plastic. I really hated to see plastic bottles in the gutters, at the side of the roads and on the beaches
On point as usual., Irie! I have been hauling recycling to centers since 1985! I had given up hope and then you gave me a link. There is a recycling spot less than 2 miles away from my house. The bottles have been piling up in my garage for almost a year. We are going to recycle tomorrow! Thank you. -A grateful Patreon🥰
Another great video. Was in Jamaica recently and noticed plastic bags are no longer used when buying and selling products. You have to carry your bag(s) to the supermarket! I just love it😊!! Places were visibly cleaner!
Yes. Please do your part by removing all package goods from their plastic before bringing it to Jamaica. It helps alot plus it lessen the weight at the airport. If everyone recycle in the country of purchase it's a big help.
I have been visiting Jamaica so many years and stayed in Manchester and was disappointed to see garbage just thrown around and also see that they have the problem with the plastic causing flooding in the area. I’m so glad to see this video. I also saw a large collection of plastic collected in a large fish art piece in St Elizabeth. So glad to see changes happening. Also the hotels stopped giving straws 👍🏼 I hope the schools can use your video to bring attention to this problem. Love Jamaica and it’s people ❤
Thank you so much Irene for this wonderful information. I sent an email to the Prime Minister's office in 2014 after I visited Costa Rica and saw how clean the streets were and in every establishment there are 3 different containers one for trash 1 for bottles and 1 for a plastic recyclable. Nothing is thrown away in Costa Rica so I asked the Prime Minister's office why are we having so many litter in Jamaica When we could recycle and generate income for all these people who are supposedly unemployed? I am very elated that there is a recycled program in Jamaica I have had bottles and plastics that I've been keeping because I refuse to throw them in the trash now I know how and what I can do with them I hope there is one in my district. I hope this news will be shared by the other bloggers and the news media the same way we can hear about other salacious stories because this is very important. There are many countries in the world with clean streets And Costa Rica is one of them we can be like them if we are willing to give up our lawless and acidic culture that we have inherited from we know where. Let's be the country where more people are willing to visit and can take lovely pictures of this surrounding and share with their friends versus the mess that they normally idolize in to go back and share
Nice to know that plastic recycling is happening in Jamaica. I wish there were more drop off bins, I'm from Clarendon and I haven't seen or heard of anything like this before now. People in my neighborhood burn their garbage, including plastic which is so bad for the environment. The regular garbage truck doesn't even come around for months, and when they do come, people are at work, so their garbage is not collected, so they in turn burn the garbage, and the cycle continues. Thank you Irina for highlighting this, and I pray that this recycling system will eventually be a thing in all parishes
Very interesting video, this is probably what people wanted to know but was afraid to ask. This video is creating awareness to recycling. More public education is definitely needed. It seems that people can make money if they take the time to be part of the sulution to recycle plastic bottles. 🤔👍🇯🇲🇨🇦
My Mom told me that back in the day, Jamaica never had much plastic bottles like that. Instead it was glass. The island was so much cleaner. Glass that hits the ocean is not bad for the environment. Instead it's turned into something beauty.
Yes, people would collect them, save them up until Christmas time and exchange them for money back or reduced priced drinks. My memory has faded a bit but it was during the 90's, I was 11 -14 years old when visiting annually from the UK back then.
Yeah, I remember when I used to collect glass bottles (Red Stripe, Dragon Stout, Guiness and D&G Soda) and return to local Shops and get paid for them. The reality is that Plastic bottles has replaced Glass bottles all over the Globe, not just in Jamaica (because it is significantly CHEAPER to produce Plastic bottles). But I am very surprised that Jamaica had NOT adopted a "Pay for Returns" System for the Plastic Bottles (like they had with the Glass Bottles). Upon watching this video, I get a better understanding WHY. With Glass Bottles, you simply had to WASH THEM OUT at an INDUSTRIAL level (sometimes, not so "clean", based on past experience in Jamaica...LOL). With Plastic (as shown in the video), it's a much more complex process of Sorting, Crushing, Cutting up and turning it into a different "Product" to be reused. Here's to hoping Jamaica adopt the '"Pay for Individual Returns". I think they should charge a DEPOSIT for the Bottles, included in the purchase price (as they do in the USA). The money collected would be used to Pay BACK the Consumer when they recycle. Other than the Investment Cost to setup the Return / Recycle Machines, the System would "pay for itself"...in my opinion.
Glass is probably much more expensive to use, BUT if governments and consumers (the world over, not just Ja) were serious, they could agree to absorb the extra cost for their own greater good.
Big up irie you always keep it positive you all show the good things that are taking place I see that you love Jamaica . Enjoyed your new life in Jamaica .
I hope Jamaicans take up recycling. I think its the younger ones who will participate. Older ones will say let the collectors recycle the plastics themselves
This is a terrific video. So much is happening with recycling in Jamaica and can only get better. Ill sign up for a region that Im familiar with on the island. Great research! I admire your journey to show all sides of Jamdung!
This is great…the plastic pollution always broke my heart to see in Jamaica. I am so happy to hear that it is being addressed and I will definitely share this video 🎉❤
Irina, I have watched Documentaries on Plastic Pollution of our Oceans, and I have tried to do my part on recycling accordingly (fortunately, this is EASY to do where I live...including sorting at home for pickup per bi-weekly Garbage Service). But this video had a Special Impact for me to try and do better (nothing impacts you more than when it "hits close to home", eh?). I have shared this video on Facebook, directed specifically to those in my Hometown (Higgin Town) in Saint Ann. I don't think I saw that Community on your St. Ann List (I saw surrounding ones like Lime Hall and Bamboo); however, I asked them to check out your Initiative for Community Recycling, and to fill out the Form. Hopefully, someone will from my Community. By the way, EXCELLENT "Public Service Announcement" in this video.
Thank you so much for sharing this! Higgin Town - I don't have this name in the list, but I have the community called "Higgins Land" in St.Ann, I wonder if it's the same one? I got the list of names for communities from housing report of Statistical Institute of Jamaica. I'm going to publish a 3 min video with the public announcement just to get more attention to the video and the recycling, but also working on another full video, which is coming out soon :)
I'm a returning resident and recently moved to a rural community in Jamaica and have been appalled at the amount of plastic bottle waste I see. I struggle to get the construction workers on our house site to just put their daily plastic drink bottles in the trash (instead of throwing them on the ground!). After seeing this video, I'll make the effort to collect these bottles for recycling. I don't drink sodas & drink only collected rainwater, so I use very minimal plastics, but will take the time to drop off whatever plastics I collect. I've seen a recycling drop off at Jerky's Restaurant whenever I go to Mobay; are there recycling drop-off areas in Westmoreland? I haven't seen any.
Thank you for sharing this! Yes, there are a few dropoff points in Westmoreland. One is actually featured in this video! 33:41 the dropoff point (cage) is next to Margaritaville at 7-mile beach. However, I'm now trying to get people together for each community so we can make an online map for dropoff points to make it convenient for everybody in Jamaica.
@JAMAICAWITHIRIE oh thanks! I'm about an hour and a half away from Negril. I'm kinda considering getting on board with setting one up in this lil community 🤔
Yes it's getting the people to change their mindset that's the bigger problem. My brother in law and his friends have the i don't care mindset and just throws it all over. I keep getting on him about that every time we visit, it's working little by little it's getting him to think about the future of the island for his kids but yea a lot of people just have the I don't care attitude
Thanks again Iriena for exposing the problem of plastic. I wear a winter jacket where the shell or outside of the jacket is made from recycled plastic. It's very warm and also water resistant. How much energy it takes to make another product from recycled plastic is another side of the coin. Thanks again.
The old denoes and Gedies truck used to come around to collect used bglass bottles. I guess we swapped out that economic stimulant for problem plastic.
HELLO, Irena, i love the fact that you are not Jamaican you and your family are from Ukraine! and visited the country and fell in love with it and made it your home. keep doing what you're doing i love it BLESS!
I'm glad this is happening, it breaks my heart every time I come to visit. Trash everywhere polluting the beautiful small island. I hope the public's mind starts changing towards taking care of their island
This video is long, long overdue! Thank you for everything you do. I've recently moved to Jamaica from Canada and have been thinking, how can I contribute?
You can start by removing the plastic and card board from anything you bringing into the country. That's what I have done and I tell my family and friends too. We remove the products from their packages before we pack in barrels or suitcases. It also makes the weight less so we save money on shipment. It's a win win situation. Plus if it's unwrapped we can claim it's used.
@@eileenwatt8283 I think we should even start evaluating what products we ship or carry with us from foreign, now that pretty much all the basics can be found and purchased in Jamaica. I know somethings are still more expensive, but I always wonder if that is still the case when the cost of shipping and clearing is considered. And if I was in government…I would be very deliberate about charging more to clear items that can be easily obtained in Jamaica for a reasonable price.
@@eileenwatt8283 thank you very much for the feedback. What I don't understand though is why the government/ businesses cannot emphasize the importance of recycling in the schools. Kids these days litter just as much as the adults do in Jamaica. I believe Jamaica could make recycling profitable, it's just figuring out the best way to achieve it. Time to do some homework!
Thank you for bringing awareness to this! We just got back from Portland parish and we were taking back by the amount of plastic pollution pretty much everywhere. There seems to be a real disconnect with regards to the natural environment and our needs for instant gratification. Everywhere I walked the roadside, harbor, beaches, are littered with one use bottles/cups. One of the worst area’s was Foley lighthouse point. Basically has become a public dumping ground. More alarming is the fact that many good people who are trying to keep things tidy are burning plastic. Burning plastic is incredibly dangerous to our environment the chemicals released settle on the very trees, wata, plants, etc. we might eventually consume. By burning trash we physically don’t see it but we are literally poisoning are beautiful earth. Education on this issue is a must.
Seeing this makes me appreciate the beauty of this island even more. Most of this material will be sold to container manufacturers to cut costs and materials use on new bottles etc
Respect Irina one more time. Thanks for this report. Its a topic I am worrying since I have being to Jamaica last time. I like that you do not only point on the problem, you show how we all can take action before we despair on this. My next Visit to Jamaica will be very soon, so I will try to involve the community in the recycling circle. But one very important thing is from my point of view, to find other materials to replace plastic, such as it has been before. Banana leaves, palm tree leaves and other natural materials for food containers, spoons and packagings etc. And glass for the bottles. It could not be our aim to produce and use more plastic just to have enough of it to make recycling stations being profitable. Finally, we need to reduce and replace plastic. I would like to know, how natural materials can be prepared on a way to use them in our modern societies. Its a long way still but the time is short. Most important, that all of us is aware of this problem, cos it is the problem of us all and it will be the problem of all next generations after us, if we dont get in action. Thanks to all these active and creative people, who have started and paved the way. Let us all join them. One Love, Jamaica Love.
Wow, another spectacular and informative video! I feel like a broken record, but it's true - awesome job Irina! I live in New York City, but would love to help my home town in Ja (Montego-Bay).
Thank you for all you do!!! I'm a Jamaican living in Europe, and in my small town we have a small drive-thru recycling facility near the town center, where we can drop off recyclables only. It has large in-ground receptacles with railing, on either side of the drive thru, which is about 7 cars long (so about 14 cars park at a time, 7 on each shoulder). The exterior of the building consists of doorways so the receptacles can be emptied. There are signs/receptacles for: light glass, dark glass, plastics, cardboard, tin cans/alu, styrofoam, newspapers/magazines, small appliances, batteries, clothing etc. A roll of very large heavy duty yellow plastic bags are provided free for residents to put recycled plastics to dispose of at the facility. There are monitors (people) at the facility to ensure that the right things get put where they belong, and they assist so the process goes quickly and smoothly. So you just drive in, park on the shoulder, grab your already separated items from your car, empty them out loosely into the respective receptacles, then drive out. The facility is only open 3 half-days a week, which allows enough time for the receptacles to be emptied for the next batches of drop-offs. Something like this would be convenient for more ppl to do their part in Jamaica. Wish I had the funds to set some up there!
Thank you so much Irina, for highlighting plastic waste issue here in Jamaica. It leaves me almost distraught at the sight of vast amounts of plastic I see strewn about all over the island. I am so pleased to know that there is recycling going on here on the island. Absolutely wonderful news. Personally, I recycle plastic water bottles to grow or germinate seeds,etc, which means cutting them in half...leaving the top half to be disposed of. Here in St Elizabeth, I've only come across two public plastic recycling containers and both are in the treasure Beach area. Thank you, Irina.
Happy New Year to you Irie and family. I enjoy your program about plastic and finds it very interesting to watch. I hope alot of your viewers who have relatives back home will them about recycling plastic. It is a lucitive business in the USA and other developed countries. There are a lot of unemployed people who if encourage would go at the offer, just as how they collect glass bottles. There used to be a plastic container place on Bell Road that used to make plastic bottles, l don't know if they are still in operation. Jamaicans are very creative and can utilise these bottles to make alot of things. Irie keep up the good work. Blessings. No
Way to go Jamaica! Thank you for highlighting this. This is an excellent campaign. I hope all will see the necessity of being a part of this. It will only get better.
Recycling business is a future business indeed. It's good to see it taking off in Jamaica. There is plenty business apportunity for this in every parish on the island.
Very powerful and informative video on how to deal with the plastic waste in Jamaica, but also the encouragement of personal commitment for doing our part at home! Thank you Irie!
@irie Thank you for covering another great topic. I didn’t hear it mentioned, but the public should also be educated on what to do with the bottle caps as well. My foreign country waste department said to put the caps back onto containers…this helps with sanitation, and in Ja I imagine it would help to prevent water getting in the bottles and breeding mosquitoes and other insects, and even keep the bottles floating instead of sinking into rivers/ocean.
Your focus today was on plastics and indeed it is a global problem. I applaud the efforts being made by you and others. However it is not just plastics. In every city in North America that I have been to, there are twin bins everywhere - one for bottles and one for trash. And very often, there is more garbage on the ground around the bins than there are in the bins. It's like toss it in the bin - oops I missed - aw, just leave it. Public education has got to start from kindergarten and parents being an example to the growing kids. The garbage that accumulates on the beaches are more than just plastics and include stuff like styrofoam, deflated balloons, shoes, sandals, etc. and now face masks are joining the rubbish. I highly recommend two videos to see what Jamaican locals are doing to help outside institutional programs. 1 = Spearfishing Jamaica: Underwater Garbage Cleanup (one year ago) and 2 = Salty Rum Diaries: Another Day Another Beach Clean up (also one year ago). As usual, I loved your very informative article. Thank you 🖤💚💛.
🇯🇲 Simple cleanup. Cleaner hoods. Money making. Jobs provided. Youths employments. Healthy sea-lives. Organic sea-food. I remember the days when there were nationwide neighborhood cleanup on Labour Day. It felt so good at the end when the streets were so clean and the trees along the tree-lined streets were white-washed. Lets emulate Rwanda and make it a lifestyle "not to litter".
Another great vlog Irie. They could set up a recycling factory like that one in every Parish, or alternatively arrange for collection of same from the other Parishes then he might have enough to set up a recycling plant on the Island that would of more benefit to him, instead of sending the plastics off elsewhere for processing.
these very informative videos are what inspires me to make the videos i make on my channel. such a credible source of information. love the education you spread.
In Norway, you get money back for putting bottle in the recycle machine. its common in some countries. but here in Norway we manage to recycle more then 99% of the bottles. Now, they have implemented that the top of the bottle is stuck to the bottle, so you cant lose it.
Here are some of the challenges of implementing these machines in a country that never had them before. 1) Sensing and sorting different types of materials: A recycling machine must be able to properly identify and sort the different types of materials present in the bottles, such as plastic, glass, and aluminum. 2) Dealing with contaminants: The machine must be able to detect and remove any contaminants, such as food waste or hazardous materials, that may be present in the bottles. 3) Counting and dispensing money: The machine must be able to accurately count and dispense the appropriate amount of money to the user. 4) Durability and maintenance: The machine must be durable enough to withstand frequent use and be easy to maintain. 5) Vandalism and theft: The machine may be subject to vandalism or theft, so it must be designed to minimize these risks. 6) Logistics and collection: The machine must be placed in convenient location for people and the collection of the recyclable bottles must be done efficiently. 7) Cost: The cost of building, maintaining and operating the machine must be economically viable.
@@Repz98 Great additional information...just a couple comments: 1) These machines already exist where you input the returned product into separate slots for Glass, Plastic or Aluminum (that's how it is done in Supermarket and Return Centers / Machines in the USA) 2) The Machines do not have to "clean" the Returns. They just need to be able to read the Bar Code Label Everything else you wrote is "on point"....but are feasible in Jamaica, If Deposits are charged with each individual container purchase, it would help offset costs; but there is the initial investment cost to setup the machines.
Irie, keep up the great work. By watching your blog, I have come up with a slogan. "Hey, where did you throw your plastics today. Please find the right place to toss it away. Plastics don't decay. Recycle."
Thanks for this. Everyone, please share this to as many people you know, and maybe we can raise awareness. We are all part of the problem, we can all be part of the solution.
Communities that send garbage trucks to every yard, also distribute blue recycle bins to make things that much easier to participate. It appears this is not much the case in JA? sec 31:25 or so, people do not want to participate. Unfortunately this the dominant attitude.
I stopped putting plastics in my regular garbage over a year now ... and I'm amazed at the amount of plastics I have accumulated... I would love to be able to recycle ♻️ these bottles but I'm in Manchester and I don't see any collection like those sited here 😕 Great video thanks much
Very well made video about this wonderful initiative in my favourite country in the world! Not only is the land beautiful but the people wonderful and deserve this. When I moved from the US three years ago they had the recycling stations for single cans and plastic bottles and had just banned single plastic bags. I now live in Sweden which is very advanced in recycling and environmental initiatives. Most buildings here sort all types of recycling including plastics directly in the apartment buildings and there are recycling stations where single house families take their recycling. Thanks for sharing and caring. One love.
if they want to solve it build a recycle for money company in every parish. I saw a guy in NY hand in a ag of plastics and had enough money to eat for the week. We need to make it lucrative to recycle. Once again you are a true Jamaican as your videos are so important for education of the masses.
I know plastics was the focus of this vlog, but citizens and visitors should also take note of the growing size of those ‘garbage mountains’ 🧐. With such a small island, it is important for government and residents to try to limit the overall amount of waste that they create and add to these garbage hills/dumps. Those hills could also wind up polluting the surrounding environment and the water table.
I have been enjoying your videos so much. This video made me subscribe on your patreon because I feel like this is exactly the depth and range of type of reporting I think most of us want to see. I like that it's independent. It's real. You show real people. It's not just commentary but you go where the facts and evidence takes you. I have so much respect for your channel. Please keep making this quality content.
Hi Jonathan, thank you for your support, this is so much appreciated! 🙏 I'm currently working on more important videos to come out this month, some light and fun on tourism, others with deep investigation on an interesting subject. I will publish a bit more details in Patreon soon and we also have a whatsapp group for patrons, I'll send you the link in patreon private message. Thank you again for the support 💚
Thank you for watching!
⚠watch out for impersonator who replies with some "whatsapp" number in the comments pretending to be me. It's not me! *
► Want to help Jamaica fight plastic? Take action now and join "Jamaica with irie" Recycling team here:
www.irielab.com/recycling
►To support us on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/jamaicawithirie
►To contact Recycling Partners of Jamaica:
recyclingja.com/
NOTES:
➡please check the description for more details and links to resources
➡the card used in the video as an example is NOT a valid card (I made sure I used the one that has expired!)
➡I wonder if you have reverse vending machines for plastic bottles in the USA? The example I used in the video is from Australia.
* Kindly note, I never publicly share my phone/whatsapp number. To know if the reply is really from me or from somebody else - just click the logo image and see where it takes you. If it's me - it will take you to my youtube channel :) If it's not me, it will take you to some random channel with hardly any subscribers.
I saw the problem when I was in a supermarket in Portmore and saw how everything on the shelves were in plastic.
I do my part by not bring in anything in plastic into Jamaica.
I leave all packaging in the country I purchase goods I bring there including bedding.
There should be a slogan" Remove your plastic before you ship"
Putting a recycle factory in Jamaica is not good for the environment. Respiratory illnesses and cancer would be through the roof.
People have to change their habits. Why did they stopped using glass soda bottles? They use to collect and sanitized them. It worked.
Great point on those living abroad taking initiative to not send unnecessary plastics (as well as other forms of garbage) to the island to begin with. I recently packed a barrel, and chose to spend a little more on PAPER bubble wrap (to protect some breakables) instead of the much cheaper plastic bubble wrap. We have to realize and believe that every little step each of us takes can help.
@@faithm2535 if you didn't next time remove the bedding from the packaging too and tags from clothes. They can be put in the pillowcase that comes in the set. Only liquid should stay in plastic and seal tightly with tape to prevent spills. It helps alot and the goods weigh less. Custom will also think they were used so the fees are less. We all have to do our part.
Yes I see the imposter
@@kennypryce4617 Me as well. It sucks when you're trying to do good and these fraudsters shows up. Shameful!
Persons like yourself is why I am a proud Jamaican. As you always show the good here, even when highlighting a problem, unlike traditional media. Makes me remember our motto of out of many one people. Continue doing what you do to bring out the jamaican lifestyle as a person who is jamaican by love.
Not only Jamaican by love but by adoption home and abroad into the Jamaican Heritage. Bless up, up , Irie ! 🙏🍀🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲🇨🇦
No main stream media worker, can honestly claim they are patriotic Jamaican.
Congrats on your much-needed work. Keep it up and thanks for sharing the need of the recycling of plastic as waste. I hope the rest of the Caribbean will follow suit. Thank you.
I'm unaware of Jamaica having an entity to reward creating important local documentaries ??
This one should be recognized and credited!!
All her reports are excellent. Well researched, factual and well filmed.
LOVE that idea. The recycling partnership company highlighted in this vlog can stat such a recognition program to further encourage citizens to become more active participant in the effort.
That's an awesome idea, to encourage others to post positive materials about Jamaica. Some videos should be taken down.
I agree with all your suggestions
You are such a great citizen..We need more Jamaicans as dedicated as you ..
This makes me hopeful. I almost didn’t choose to come back to Jamaica to live because I was so tired of seeing all of the garbage (plastic especially) everywhere. I know I will be that person when I move back who is constantly collecting bottles. When we bought our land my biggest concern was the environmental impact and how would we recycle or deal with waste. Growing up Rasta I learned how to do without these things but now everyone uses bottled water which was not a thing in the 1980s.
Thank you again Irina, because I love that place so much and this helps me to have a plan.
@GWB one way you can help is to remove all goods from the packaging if you are shipping a barrel or bringing stuff in suitcase. Everyone wins in this situation. The weight is less and it won't get in the country.
It's amazing how much difference the stuff weighs when taken out of the package. Price tags add weight to goods too. Try and leave all packing papers,boxes and plastic in the country they were purchased it.
I've also taken back packaging with me if I couldn't transport it there. I don't want Jamaica to end up like Indonesia.
I know when I purchase a home or move into a neighborhood I will do the exact same. I have been trying to figure out what I will do with all the garbage I collect. I love Jamaica as well, but can not stand the plastic. Everywheee I go when I am there I just want to clean it up! Top three things I don’t like about Jamaica
Your video should be shown in all schools. We start with the youth. Thanks for sharing 💚
This production quality is better than more established local media by far! Thanks for illustrating how it's done. So tired of the lazy, low quality content in Jamaican media. I can see that they are trying, but it's still not good enough. I'm sure the excuse has always been that there is not enough money for high quality content (the excuse for everything of low quality in Jamaica). You are showing what can be done on a small budget, with good skills and lots of imagination. It's time for us to accept that we are competing internationally and rise to the challenge and stop griping and complaining about how things should be easier. Thank you so much for this!
Every Jamaican watching this video please like and share.
Wow.! I just was in Jamaica and when I got back home . I asked my kids who really enjoyed their trip and can not wait to visit again. What stood out one told me all the trash on the ground the plastic . I would love to be apart of the campaign and maybe my kids can volunteer a week in the summer how do we help? I love sweet Jamaica 🇯🇲. The people are so nice and the island is so beautiful!! We would love to help.
The an unfortunate part of the culture to be mi full about where garbage is thrown….in the olden days when the population was much smaller and most of what was being discarded was natural materials that would decay fairly quickly, it didn’t matter as much, but time has changed, and the culture needs to evolve as well.
Thank you for raising this extremely important issue. I hope that Jamaicans take up the challenge to get involved locally. This should be a Jamaican tv documentary, and essential viewing in schools. I live in the UK but would love to know how I could get involved. Recycling is one of the topics that I am passionate about.
Agreed! Speaking of schools and all govt public buildings…are they all required to recycle?
@Christine S one way those in the diaspora can get involved is to not bring anything in plastic or cardboard board to the island if you are going there or shipping goods in a barrel.Remove them from the packaging and leave the packaging in the country you are residing it. Tell others too. If it's unavoidable take the plastic back with you. When on the island try not to consume food in plastic. That's going to be a challenge especially with water. Foreigners can bring water bottle and put water in them then freeze and take on their road trips. The heat will melt the ice.
If the stores that sell products in plastic bottles were to charge a deposit and also serve as redemption centers, perhaps more people would return used plastics and collect the deposit refunds. THEN there would be more plastics to make it economical for recycling plants to exist in JA.
I have always wondered how Jamaica cope with all their plastics.. the good to see how far advanced they are in coping. I like partnerships between the government and the private sector..now we need an intense public campaign and education programme to make our citizens aware of the problem and how they can help..thank you for another excellent vid.. blessings ❤️🇯🇲
This should be taught in schools across the islands. I am from Barbados watching this in England. I really appreciated this lady's blog.
@Yvette kinch King i totally agree yvette..
I’m impressed by the existence of the partnership, but their level of “advancement” needs to be measurable. On recent visits to the island, I stayed in more than one hotel where I saw no evidence of plastic bottle recycling…I.e. no containers for guests to place bottles in for recycling (which means, the bottles they use are being placed in regular garbage). I also saw many examples of shops and venders still handing out plastic bags. On the good side, I didn’t see any plastic straws.
@Faith M they need to bring in stricter regulations for these entities, backed up by heavy fines..it's the only way they will do their part..hit them in their pockets ❤️🇯🇲
@@faithm2535 Yeah those toxic paper/glue straws are so much better!
I am for this move , what I am suggesting is that whenever one purchase anything in plastic bottle they pay for the bottle which can be redeem on the return of the bottle, that could be an incentive to return the bottles.
Here we see that with cooperation from the populace we can solve problems. I am indeed very encouraged by these efforts.
Another high quality programme.
when i was young we all drank tap water and everything was in glass bottles.
I pray that the passion and concern for Jamaica is transferred to all those who reside in that beautiful land.
To retain some plastic from the collected waste, using a sheet press, it can be turned into 30mm thick sheets or extruded tubes for furniture. OneArmy produce a press which does this. I've seen workshops in Boipeba in Brazil demonstrate how the plastic waste can be transformed into products made by fairly low skilled people to sell. I'm pretty confident that with Jamaican ingenuity, a press can be made locally, if it's too costly to buy.
Agreed. I appreciate those who have concerns about possible harmful emissions from having a plastics factory on such a small island, but perhaps there are different manufacturing techniques that are less problematic.
This is commendable. I remember hearing a little jingle on the radio about Recycling Partners of Jamaica ... Putting plastic in it's place but never thought much into it. The focus here is just plastic but I think a total approach to waste management need to involve separation of garbage of all kinds. I think in some parts of Europe this is done.
The money will certainly incentivize Jamaicans reminiscent of the times when we used to recycle glass bottles for Diageo and put them in crates to give back to the factory at a cost. For some reason, this is no longer popular probably it was discontinued but if we can get our people, all our people, to separate the garbage it would help tremendously in keeping the environment clean. Littering the gullies is another issue that really needs to be addressed. If we can appeal to the better part of those that litter, it can go a far way. (I wonder how did Singapore achieve high standard maintaining a green environment)
Capturing wayward plastic containers feels like an impossible mission. It’s almost poetic, the way that, for all its flaws, the (mostly) free market system itself is recycled, converting an externalized cost into a closed loop in which everyone benefits. I remember seeing a plastic debris collection system in which a big mesh bag was tied to the discharge pipe from a gully and when it rained, the stream of water washed dozens of plastic bottles neatly into the bag. The best solutions are often so simple! Best of luck in your community engagement, Irena. This was such an encouraging video. Bravo!
Agreed about the best solutions often being simple, but often overlooked. I have wondered why more plastics isn’t being recycled to make things like fence posts, vine support, etc, to be used on farms or residential yards, instead of constantly cutting down young trees. Or various other structural things like making benches for public spaces, etc. Imagine most of Jamaica rusty zinc fences replaced with vinyl fence. Even that Negril sign could have been made out of recycled plastic.. 😁. So many missed opportunities….
I live in Trelawny and I would like to stop complaining and be part of the solution….Is there a recycling drop off center near Trelawny? Thank you for this great video, it gives a lot of hope….
I lived in two countries in Africa- Ethiopia and Djibouti for a year and plastic pollution in Jamaica is nothing compared to what I have seen in those countries, it was overwhelming.
I wonder what plastic pollution is like in Rwanda…the African country that is now well known for being the cleanest country in Africa. One of my dreams is for Jamaica to wear that label as well…cleanest island in the Caribbean, and even the world.
I really like this video. From I was a youth growing up in Montego Bay, I've been trying to get people in my community to stop polluting the place with plastic. I really hated to see plastic bottles in the gutters, at the side of the roads and on the beaches
On point as usual., Irie! I have been hauling recycling to centers since 1985! I had given up hope and then you gave me a link. There is a recycling spot less than 2 miles away from my house. The bottles have been piling up in my garage for almost a year. We are going to recycle tomorrow! Thank you. -A grateful Patreon🥰
Another great video. Was in Jamaica recently and noticed plastic bags are no longer used when buying and selling products. You have to carry your bag(s) to the supermarket! I just love it😊!!
Places were visibly cleaner!
Yes. Please do your part by removing all package goods from their plastic before bringing it to Jamaica. It helps alot plus it lessen the weight at the airport.
If everyone recycle in the country of purchase it's a big help.
Absolutely 💯
Excellent and invaluable video. Not only for Jamaica but for every country on the planet.
I have been visiting Jamaica so many years and stayed in Manchester and was disappointed to see garbage just thrown around and also see that they have the problem with the plastic causing flooding in the area. I’m so glad to see this video. I also saw a large collection of plastic collected in a large fish art piece in St Elizabeth. So glad to see changes happening. Also the hotels stopped giving straws 👍🏼 I hope the schools can use your video to bring attention to this problem. Love Jamaica and it’s people ❤
Agreed. The youth have the most gain or lose by the condition of the environment in the future.
Thank you so much Irene for this wonderful information. I sent an email to the Prime Minister's office in 2014 after I visited Costa Rica and saw how clean the streets were and in every establishment there are 3 different containers one for trash 1 for bottles and 1 for a plastic recyclable. Nothing is thrown away in Costa Rica so I asked the Prime Minister's office why are we having so many litter in Jamaica When we could recycle and generate income for all these people who are supposedly unemployed? I am very elated that there is a recycled program in Jamaica I have had bottles and plastics that I've been keeping because I refuse to throw them in the trash now I know how and what I can do with them I hope there is one in my district. I hope this news will be shared by the other bloggers and the news media the same way we can hear about other salacious stories because this is very important. There are many countries in the world with clean streets And Costa Rica is one of them we can be like them if we are willing to give up our lawless and acidic culture that we have inherited from we know where. Let's be the country where more people are willing to visit and can take lovely pictures of this surrounding and share with their friends versus the mess that they normally idolize in to go back and share
Nice to know that plastic recycling is happening in Jamaica. I wish there were more drop off bins, I'm from Clarendon and I haven't seen or heard of anything like this before now. People in my neighborhood burn their garbage, including plastic which is so bad for the environment. The regular garbage truck doesn't even come around for months, and when they do come, people are at work, so their garbage is not collected, so they in turn burn the garbage, and the cycle continues. Thank you Irina for highlighting this, and I pray that this recycling system will eventually be a thing in all parishes
Thank you for the feedback! What is the name of your community in Clarendon?
@@JAMAICAWITHIRIE a little place in Chapelton, called New Danks.....close to Sangsters Heights
Very interesting video, this is probably what people wanted to know but was afraid to ask. This video is creating awareness to recycling. More public education is definitely needed. It seems that people can make money if they take the time to be part of the sulution to recycle plastic bottles. 🤔👍🇯🇲🇨🇦
My Mom told me that back in the day, Jamaica never had much plastic bottles like that. Instead it was glass. The island was so much cleaner. Glass that hits the ocean is not bad for the environment. Instead it's turned into something beauty.
28 years ago all most all drinks were in glass bottles.
Yes, people would collect them, save them up until Christmas time and exchange them for money back or reduced priced drinks. My memory has faded a bit but it was during the 90's, I was 11 -14 years old when visiting annually from the UK back then.
Yeah, I remember when I used to collect glass bottles (Red Stripe, Dragon Stout, Guiness and D&G Soda) and return to local Shops and get paid for them. The reality is that Plastic bottles has replaced Glass bottles all over the Globe, not just in Jamaica (because it is significantly CHEAPER to produce Plastic bottles). But I am very surprised that Jamaica had NOT adopted a "Pay for Returns" System for the Plastic Bottles (like they had with the Glass Bottles).
Upon watching this video, I get a better understanding WHY. With Glass Bottles, you simply had to WASH THEM OUT at an INDUSTRIAL level (sometimes, not so "clean", based on past experience in Jamaica...LOL). With Plastic (as shown in the video), it's a much more complex process of Sorting, Crushing, Cutting up and turning it into a different "Product" to be reused.
Here's to hoping Jamaica adopt the '"Pay for Individual Returns". I think they should charge a DEPOSIT for the Bottles, included in the purchase price (as they do in the USA). The money collected would be used to Pay BACK the Consumer when they recycle. Other than the Investment Cost to setup the Return / Recycle Machines, the System would "pay for itself"...in my opinion.
@@chantelforrester8325 You could take them to the store at any time for value and buy what you want based on each value. I remember those days
Glass is probably much more expensive to use, BUT if governments and consumers (the world over, not just Ja) were serious, they could agree to absorb the extra cost for their own greater good.
I love how your video about Jamaica is so informative.
Well done to all involved
Big up irie you always keep it positive you all show the good things that are taking place I see that you love Jamaica . Enjoyed your new life in Jamaica .
I hope Jamaicans take up recycling. I think its the younger ones who will participate. Older ones will say let the collectors recycle the plastics themselves
This is a terrific video. So much is happening with recycling in Jamaica and can only get better. Ill sign up for a region that Im familiar with on the island. Great research! I admire your journey to show all sides of Jamdung!
This is great…the plastic pollution always broke my heart to see in Jamaica. I am so happy to hear that it is being addressed and I will definitely share this video 🎉❤
Irina, I have watched Documentaries on Plastic Pollution of our Oceans, and I have tried to do my part on recycling accordingly (fortunately, this is EASY to do where I live...including sorting at home for pickup per bi-weekly Garbage Service). But this video had a Special Impact for me to try and do better (nothing impacts you more than when it "hits close to home", eh?). I have shared this video on Facebook, directed specifically to those in my Hometown (Higgin Town) in Saint Ann. I don't think I saw that Community on your St. Ann List (I saw surrounding ones like Lime Hall and Bamboo); however, I asked them to check out your Initiative for Community Recycling, and to fill out the Form. Hopefully, someone will from my Community.
By the way, EXCELLENT "Public Service Announcement" in this video.
Thank you so much for sharing this! Higgin Town - I don't have this name in the list, but I have the community called "Higgins Land" in St.Ann, I wonder if it's the same one? I got the list of names for communities from housing report of Statistical Institute of Jamaica. I'm going to publish a 3 min video with the public announcement just to get more attention to the video and the recycling, but also working on another full video, which is coming out soon :)
I'm a returning resident and recently moved to a rural community in Jamaica and have been appalled at the amount of plastic bottle waste I see. I struggle to get the construction workers on our house site to just put their daily plastic drink bottles in the trash (instead of throwing them on the ground!). After seeing this video, I'll make the effort to collect these bottles for recycling. I don't drink sodas & drink only collected rainwater, so I use very minimal plastics, but will take the time to drop off whatever plastics I collect.
I've seen a recycling drop off at Jerky's Restaurant whenever I go to Mobay; are there recycling drop-off areas in Westmoreland? I haven't seen any.
Thank you for sharing this! Yes, there are a few dropoff points in Westmoreland. One is actually featured in this video!
33:41 the dropoff point (cage) is next to Margaritaville at 7-mile beach. However, I'm now trying to get people together for each community so we can make an online map for dropoff points to make it convenient for everybody in Jamaica.
It’s just to get people to change their mentality!!
Maybe you have to give them $100. Ja dollars to them in the bin.
@JAMAICAWITHIRIE oh thanks! I'm about an hour and a half away from Negril. I'm kinda considering getting on board with setting one up in this lil community 🤔
Yes it's getting the people to change their mindset that's the bigger problem. My brother in law and his friends have the i don't care mindset and just throws it all over. I keep getting on him about that every time we visit, it's working little by little it's getting him to think about the future of the island for his kids but yea a lot of people just have the I don't care attitude
Thanks again Iriena for exposing the problem of plastic.
I wear a winter jacket where the shell or outside of the jacket is made from recycled plastic. It's very warm and also water resistant. How much energy it takes to make another product from recycled plastic is another side of the coin. Thanks again.
There is a guy in Ghana who builds houses out of plastic bricks. It's an I
Ingenious discovery every one should follow his example.
The old denoes and Gedies truck used to come around to collect used bglass bottles. I guess we swapped out that economic stimulant for problem plastic.
Thank you Irina for your usual excellent videos. You are a credit to the whole world 💖
HELLO, Irena, i love the fact that you are not Jamaican you and your family are from Ukraine! and visited the country and fell in love with it and made it your home. keep doing what you're doing i love it BLESS!
I'm glad this is happening, it breaks my heart every time I come to visit. Trash everywhere polluting the beautiful small island. I hope the public's mind starts changing towards taking care of their island
That is just such an awesome initiative!! The distance to a thousand miles, is the first step indeed..
This video is long, long overdue! Thank you for everything you do. I've recently moved to Jamaica from Canada and have been thinking, how can I contribute?
You can start by removing the plastic and card board from anything you bringing into the country. That's what I have done and I tell my family and friends too. We remove the products from their packages before we pack in barrels or suitcases.
It also makes the weight less so we save money on shipment. It's a win win situation. Plus if it's unwrapped we can claim it's used.
@@eileenwatt8283 Sneaky. Love it.
@@eileenwatt8283 I think we should even start evaluating what products we ship or carry with us from foreign, now that pretty much all the basics can be found and purchased in Jamaica. I know somethings are still more expensive, but I always wonder if that is still the case when the cost of shipping and clearing is considered. And if I was in government…I would be very deliberate about charging more to clear items that can be easily obtained in Jamaica for a reasonable price.
@@eileenwatt8283 thank you very much for the feedback. What I don't understand though is why the government/ businesses cannot emphasize the importance of recycling in the schools. Kids these days litter just as much as the adults do in Jamaica. I believe Jamaica could make recycling profitable, it's just figuring out the best way to achieve it. Time to do some homework!
We are going to need at least five of these facilities in each Parish!
Thank you for bringing awareness to this! We just got back from Portland parish and we were taking back by the amount of plastic pollution pretty much everywhere. There seems to be a real disconnect with regards to the natural environment and our needs for instant gratification. Everywhere I walked the roadside, harbor, beaches, are littered with one use bottles/cups. One of the worst area’s was Foley lighthouse point. Basically has become a public dumping ground. More alarming is the fact that many good people who are trying to keep things tidy are burning plastic. Burning plastic is incredibly dangerous to our environment the chemicals released settle on the very trees, wata, plants, etc. we might eventually consume. By burning trash we physically don’t see it but we are literally poisoning are beautiful earth. Education on this issue is a must.
Such a wonderful effort and initiative. I will be living in Jamaica soon and I would like to be involved.
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 another great fact finding vlog. I have always wondered why more is not being done to combat this problem. But it’s a great start
People need to be serious about doing the right thing to the benefit of everyone
Seeing this makes me appreciate the beauty of this island even more. Most of this material will be sold to container manufacturers to cut costs and materials use on new bottles etc
Respect Irina one more time. Thanks for this report. Its a topic I am worrying since I have being to Jamaica last time. I like that you do not only point on the problem, you show how we all can take action before we despair on this. My next Visit to Jamaica will be very soon, so I will try to involve the community in the recycling circle. But one very important thing is from my point of view, to find other materials to replace plastic, such as it has been before. Banana leaves, palm tree leaves and other natural materials for food containers, spoons and packagings etc. And glass for the bottles. It could not be our aim to produce and use more plastic just to have enough of it to make recycling stations being profitable. Finally, we need to reduce and replace plastic. I would like to know, how natural materials can be prepared on a way to use them in our modern societies. Its a long way still but the time is short. Most important, that all of us is aware of this problem, cos it is the problem of us all and it will be the problem of all next generations after us, if we dont get in action. Thanks to all these active and creative people, who have started and paved the way. Let us all join them. One Love, Jamaica Love.
Wow, another spectacular and informative video! I feel like a broken record, but it's true - awesome job Irina! I live in New York City, but would love to help my home town in Ja (Montego-Bay).
Our rivers and shores need fi clean more
Thank you for all you do!!! I'm a Jamaican living in Europe, and in my small town we have a small drive-thru recycling facility near the town center, where we can drop off recyclables only. It has large in-ground receptacles with railing, on either side of the drive thru, which is about 7 cars long (so about 14 cars park at a time, 7 on each shoulder). The exterior of the building consists of doorways so the receptacles can be emptied. There are signs/receptacles for: light glass, dark glass, plastics, cardboard, tin cans/alu, styrofoam, newspapers/magazines, small appliances, batteries, clothing etc. A roll of very large heavy duty yellow plastic bags are provided free for residents to put recycled plastics to dispose of at the facility. There are monitors (people) at the facility to ensure that the right things get put where they belong, and they assist so the process goes quickly and smoothly. So you just drive in, park on the shoulder, grab your already separated items from your car, empty them out loosely into the respective receptacles, then drive out. The facility is only open 3 half-days a week, which allows enough time for the receptacles to be emptied for the next batches of drop-offs. Something like this would be convenient for more ppl to do their part in Jamaica. Wish I had the funds to set some up there!
Thank you so much Irina, for highlighting plastic waste issue here in Jamaica. It leaves me almost distraught at the sight of vast amounts of plastic I see strewn about all over the island. I am so pleased to know that there is recycling going on here on the island. Absolutely wonderful news. Personally, I recycle plastic water bottles to grow or germinate seeds,etc, which means cutting them in half...leaving the top half to be disposed of. Here in St Elizabeth, I've only come across two public plastic recycling containers and both are in the treasure Beach area. Thank you, Irina.
I saw an article a while ago where they full the bottles with DIRT and string them together and make beautiful Houses.
Love the content. We need this in Guyana 🇬🇾. Keep up the great videos.
All supermarkets and shopping centres should have recycle bins on their property.
Happy New Year to you Irie and family. I enjoy your program about plastic and finds it very interesting to watch. I hope alot of your viewers who have relatives back home will them about recycling plastic. It is a lucitive business in the USA and other developed countries. There are a lot of unemployed people who if encourage would go at the offer, just as how they collect glass bottles. There used to be a plastic container place on Bell Road that used to make plastic bottles, l don't know if they are still in operation. Jamaicans are very creative and can utilise these bottles to make alot of things. Irie keep up the good work. Blessings.
No
Many things can be made from recycled plastics.We should be encouraging innovative ideas in these areas
If we show recycle ♻️ profit incentives, there will be less plastic.
Way to go Jamaica! Thank you for highlighting this. This is an excellent campaign. I hope all will see the necessity of being a part of this. It will only get better.
Recycling business is a future business indeed. It's good to see it taking off in Jamaica. There is plenty business apportunity for this in every parish on the island.
Thanks for this video . Big problem in JA. GOJ said plastic bottles would have a deposit some years ago. As usual, bare chat, no action.
Very powerful and informative video on how to deal with the plastic waste in Jamaica, but also the encouragement of personal commitment for doing our part at home! Thank you Irie!
@irie Thank you for covering another great topic. I didn’t hear it mentioned, but the public should also be educated on what to do with the bottle caps as well. My foreign country waste department said to put the caps back onto containers…this helps with sanitation, and in Ja I imagine it would help to prevent water getting in the bottles and breeding mosquitoes and other insects, and even keep the bottles floating instead of sinking into rivers/ocean.
I’m always glad to watch your videos, I learn so much. Thankfully a truck comes to my neighborhood every two weeks to collect plastics 🙏🏾
Your focus today was on plastics and indeed it is a global problem. I applaud the efforts being made by you and others. However it is not just plastics. In every city in North America that I have been to, there are twin bins everywhere - one for bottles and one for trash. And very often, there is more garbage on the ground around the bins than there are in the bins. It's like toss it in the bin - oops I missed - aw, just leave it. Public education has got to start from kindergarten and parents being an example to the growing kids. The garbage that accumulates on the beaches are more than just plastics and include stuff like styrofoam, deflated balloons, shoes, sandals, etc. and now face masks are joining the rubbish.
I highly recommend two videos to see what Jamaican locals are doing to help outside institutional programs. 1 = Spearfishing Jamaica: Underwater Garbage Cleanup (one year ago) and 2 = Salty Rum Diaries: Another Day Another Beach Clean up (also one year ago).
As usual, I loved your very informative article. Thank you 🖤💚💛.
Truly EXCELLENT, Irena. Thank you so much. You've played your part well with this one. Keep it up!
Very interesting topic. Thank you for bringing this to the attention. Well done 👍👍
🇯🇲 Simple cleanup.
Cleaner hoods.
Money making.
Jobs provided.
Youths employments.
Healthy sea-lives.
Organic sea-food.
I remember the days when there were nationwide neighborhood cleanup on Labour Day.
It felt so good at the end when the streets were so clean and the trees along the tree-lined streets were white-washed.
Lets emulate Rwanda and make it a lifestyle "not to litter".
Great message 🇯🇲🇯🇲💐
Another great vlog Irie. They could set up a recycling factory like that one in every Parish, or alternatively arrange for collection of same from the other Parishes then he might have enough to set up a recycling plant on the Island that would of more benefit to him, instead of sending the plastics off elsewhere for processing.
these very informative videos are what inspires me to make the videos i make on my channel. such a credible source of information. love the education you spread.
Walk into any grocery store and look around, imagine every product in there that has a plastic content to disappear, you would be shocked
thank you for highlighting this quiet pandemic
Thank you so much for this documentation it is educational Irena. We appreciate you.
In Norway, you get money back for putting bottle in the recycle machine. its common in some countries. but here in Norway we manage to recycle more then 99% of the bottles. Now, they have implemented that the top of the bottle is stuck to the bottle, so you cant lose it.
Here are some of the challenges of implementing these machines in a country that never had them before.
1) Sensing and sorting different types of materials: A recycling machine must be able to properly identify and sort the different types of materials present in the bottles, such as plastic, glass, and aluminum.
2) Dealing with contaminants: The machine must be able to detect and remove any contaminants, such as food waste or hazardous materials, that may be present in the bottles.
3) Counting and dispensing money: The machine must be able to accurately count and dispense the appropriate amount of money to the user.
4) Durability and maintenance: The machine must be durable enough to withstand frequent use and be easy to maintain.
5) Vandalism and theft: The machine may be subject to vandalism or theft, so it must be designed to minimize these risks.
6) Logistics and collection: The machine must be placed in convenient location for people and the collection of the recyclable bottles must be done efficiently.
7) Cost: The cost of building, maintaining and operating the machine must be economically viable.
@@Repz98 Great additional information...just a couple comments:
1) These machines already exist where you input the returned product into separate slots for Glass, Plastic or Aluminum (that's how it is done in Supermarket and Return Centers / Machines in the USA)
2) The Machines do not have to "clean" the Returns. They just need to be able to read the Bar Code Label
Everything else you wrote is "on point"....but are feasible in Jamaica, If Deposits are charged with each individual container purchase, it would help offset costs; but there is the initial investment cost to setup the machines.
Thank you for this...love this island and hope we can keep the communities clean ♻️ everyone, esp the government needs to do its part
Irie, keep up the great work. By watching your blog, I have come up with a slogan.
"Hey, where did you throw your plastics today. Please find the right place to toss it away. Plastics don't decay. Recycle."
The good the bad and the ugly. Thank you for sharing Irina!
Quality content, high production value. Great work and may you have good health to continue.
Irena thanks very much i learn so much about my country Jamaica 🥰🇨🇦💙
Thanks for this. Everyone, please share this to as many people you know, and maybe we can raise awareness.
We are all part of the problem, we can all be part of the solution.
This lady deserves a 🥇🏅
Mr. Trought here. Love the video. Well done.
Communities that send garbage trucks to every yard, also distribute blue recycle bins to make things that much easier to participate. It appears this is not much the case in JA? sec 31:25 or so, people do not want to participate. Unfortunately this the dominant attitude.
Wow Wow this is a great move
Very informative video, this is very close to my heart.♥️💯
Bless up.
Very pleased to see the progress.
One Love Still.
I stopped putting plastics in my regular garbage over a year now ... and I'm amazed at the amount of plastics I have accumulated... I would love to be able to recycle ♻️ these bottles but I'm in Manchester and I don't see any collection like those sited here 😕
Great video thanks much
Mawning, mi just a reach
Bless u self Jamaica and Jamaicans 🇯🇲..one lob 🖤🙈💪🏿📡
This is amazing what Irie is doing coming up with a solution to get people from the community to assist.
Very well made video about this wonderful initiative in my favourite country in the world! Not only is the land beautiful but the people wonderful and deserve this. When I moved from the US three years ago they had the recycling stations for single cans and plastic bottles and had just banned single plastic bags. I now live in Sweden which is very advanced in recycling and environmental initiatives. Most buildings here sort all types of recycling including plastics directly in the apartment buildings and there are recycling stations where single house families take their recycling. Thanks for sharing and caring. One love.
Thanks again Irena I hope more people are watching so they can help our environment. Thanks 👍 God bless
if they want to solve it build a recycle for money company in every parish. I saw a guy in NY hand in a ag of plastics and had enough money to eat for the week. We need to make it lucrative to recycle. Once again you are a true Jamaican as your videos are so important for education of the masses.
I know plastics was the focus of this vlog, but citizens and visitors should also take note of the growing size of those ‘garbage mountains’ 🧐. With such a small island, it is important for government and residents to try to limit the overall amount of waste that they create and add to these garbage hills/dumps. Those hills could also wind up polluting the surrounding environment and the water table.
Good information Irina got a lot to learn.
I have been enjoying your videos so much. This video made me subscribe on your patreon because I feel like this is exactly the depth and range of type of reporting I think most of us want to see. I like that it's independent. It's real. You show real people. It's not just commentary but you go where the facts and evidence takes you. I have so much respect for your channel. Please keep making this quality content.
Hi Jonathan, thank you for your support, this is so much appreciated! 🙏 I'm currently working on more important videos to come out this month, some light and fun on tourism, others with deep investigation on an interesting subject. I will publish a bit more details in Patreon soon and we also have a whatsapp group for patrons, I'll send you the link in patreon private message. Thank you again for the support 💚
GREETINS IRIE IM VOTIN DE I IN MAJORE FI JAMEKYAH KEEP UP DE GUD WOK NUFF LUV.BUTTERFLY
Owen McKen In Ghana there is a company that uses recycled plastic to build affordable homes. Maybe you can get some information.
Heros the lot of you, big up your self!
Lord god look 👀 at what we mankind are doing to this beautiful world 🌎 😢😢😢😢