The Kingston Harbour Cleanup Project (KHCP) proudly unveiled its latest initiative, The Great Mangrove Cleanup, during a media launch on April 22 at GraceKennedy’s Harbour Street Headquarters in Kingston. The first cleanup under the project will take place at seven sites on the Kingston Harbour coastline, this Saturday, April 27 from 6:30 am to 9:30 am.

The Great Mangrove Cleanup is being coordinated by the GraceKennedy Foundation, in collaboration with their KHCP partners, Clean Harbours Jamaica and The Ocean Cleanup – a Dutch non-profit organisation.

Speaking at the launch, CEO of GraceKennedy Foundation, Mrs. Caroline Mahfood, applauded the numerous corporate and community-based organisations who have come on board to support the initiative.

“The Great Mangrove Cleanup is a multipronged venture by the Kingston Harbour Cleanup Project. [On Saturday] we will be removing waste from the coastlines surrounding the harbour and gathering data on the type of waste found at the locations. All this is being done to create a baseline from which research can be done to help us develop more informed pollution prevention efforts in Kingston Harbour.”

She continued, “It is a mammoth task, and I must commend the organisations who readily accepted the call to support this noble cause, including Pepsi, Cemex Carib Cement and Wisynco, who are coordinating cleanups sites along the Palisadoes strip, and Scotiabank, Petrojam and Jamaica National Group, who are leading cleanups on the other side of the Harbour.”

Since 2022, the KHCP has successfully deployed Interceptor™ barriers at the mouths of seven Kingston gullies, preventing over 1.6 million kilogrammes of waste from entering the Harbour. Despite the reduction in the volume of solid waste reaching the mangrove forests and beaches along the Harbour’s coastline, the persistence of garbage in the area underscores the need for further action.

During his keynote address at the media launch, Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth & Job Creation, Senator The Honourable Matthew Samuda, highlighted the Jamaican Government’s commitment to the conservation of mangroves, while highlighting the economic opportunities presented by a cleaner Kingston Harbour.

“The Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation has been leading the way with legislation that focuses on the protection and restoration of our mangroves through the National Environment and Planning Agency’s (NEPA) Adopt-A-Mangrove Programme.”

He added, “NEPA has estimated the value of the activities that are conducted in the Harbour – fishing, aviation, shipping, industry and commerce at US$510M per annum. This estimate is conservative and does not include tourism and recreational activities, which would significantly increase this figure. Hence, the message to all Jamaicans – stop using Kingston Harbour and the country’s other water bodies and wetlands as disposal sites.”

Michael McCarthy, Managing Director of Clean Harbours Jamaica, explained that although The Kingston Harbour Cleanup Project has made significant strides since its inception in 2022, there is still much work to be done to achieve a truly clean Kingston Harbour.

McCarthy explained, “The learnings and data we have gathered so far will allow us to optimise our operations and expand our reach across the harbour to the Hunts Bay area. This will be our focus for the remainder of 2024, as we aim to prevent an estimated 1000 tons of plastic and waste from flowing into Kingston Harbour each year.”

To register to join the KHCP team at Gun Boat Beach along the Palisadoes strip for The Great Mangrove Cleanup visit www.cleankingstonharbour.com.