Trash Free Waters Initiative in the Caribbean | The Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP)

UNEP CEP- EPA Peace Corps Partnership on Marine Litter

Pilot projects in Jamaica and Panama

Vision:To significantly reduce and prevent the amount of trash from entering waterways and leading to the Caribbean Sea

The Trash Free Waters Initiative is a partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Peace Corps, the United Nations Environment Programme – Caribbean Environment Programme (Secretariat to the Cartagena Convention); UN Environment’s Regional Office for Latin America and its Caribbean Sub-Regional Office.

The Trash Free Waters (TFW) Initiative is driven by the central tenet to catalyze local communities and governments in the Caribbean region to work together to develop marine litter policies and projects that reduce the amount of trash entering the Caribbean Sea.

The main objective of this partnership is to reduce in some instances and ultimately prevent land-based trash from entering watersheds, coastal waters, and the marine environment. National projects are being implemented in the first two pilot countries within the Caribbean, Panama and Jamaica.

The Trash Free Waters Initiative encapsulates a partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Peace Corps, the United Nations Environment Programme – Caribbean Environment Programme (Secretariat to the Cartagena Convention); UN Environment’s Regional Office for Latin America and its Caribbean Sub-Regional Office. This initiative is centred on implementing activities in two pilot countries in the first instance, Panama and Jamaica to reduce and prevent land-based trash from entering watersheds, coastal waters, and the marine environment.

Partners are working with Environment Ministries in both pilot countries to help raise awareness of marine litter and prioritize sustainable solid waste management practices that will also benefit the economy.

Government Partners

The National Environment & Planning Agency (NEPA) in Jamaica is the lead agency for Trash Free Waters in Jamaica to oversee the further implementation of activities.

The National Authority of the Environment in Panama officially known as Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM) in Panama leads the Trash Free Waters initiative and will oversee the project implementation to prevent and reduce marine litter through improved solid waste management.

Implementing Partners

Sandals Foundation coordinated the implementation of pilot project activities in the communities of Bluefields and Whitehouse, thereby helping to protect two Marine Protected Areas from solid waste pollution and also facilitated a participatory approach to effectively manage solid waste across the region.

News at a Glance

The contractual agreement was signed between UN Environment and La Asociación para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (ANCON) in Panama City to cooperate with respect to the design of a waste interception programme on the Juan Díaz River accompanied by an environmental education programme to schools, businesses and the general public in July 2018.
Bluefields and Whitehouse Communities in Westmoreland, Jamaica plan to tackle solid waste for trash free waters on the coast
Successful first TFW stakeholder workshop for Jamaica held in February 2017 in Kingston
Launch of the Trash Free Waters (TFW) in Jamaica in August 2016
Launch of the Trash Free Waters (TFW) in Panama in May 2016
Productive initial meetings with national governments and Peace Corps in both countries. Panama in November 2015 and Jamaica in January 2016.
Launch of TFW in the Caribbean Initiative at the Our Ocean II Conference in October 2015 in Chile.

Trash Free Waters

Pilot: Solid Waste Reduction Project in Bluefields & Whitehouse, Westmoreland

Jamaica

Trash — *Site Visit- Recycling Partners of Jamaica (Following Stakeholder Workshop in Feb 2017)*

Sandals Foundation volunteers and environment, health and safety guardians from Sandals South Coast shows the debris they collected from the Whitehouse Fish Market during a Beach Cleanup activity in commemoration of World Oceans Day, June 8

What’s happening in the Communities in Westmoreland?

Solid Waste Reduction Project

The Whitehouse and Bluefields Solid Waste Reduction Project targeted the communities of Whitehouse and Bluefields, as well as surrounding areas - Robins River, Mearnsville, Beeston Spring and Cave - all located on the south coast of Jamaica in the parish of Westmoreland. There, as in many other communities across Jamaica, solid waste pollution was prevalent in the gullies, beaches, and roadways and, in particular, in the Whitehouse and Bluefields Bay Special Fishery Conservation Areas (SFCA).

These communities, comprised of over 5000 residents, generate large amounts of garbage that either end up on the coast or in the sea, affecting the health of community members and the local environment including the SFCAs, on which local fisher folk depend. Fishing, tourism and agriculture are key industries in the communities and as such, community members (small business operators, families, schools, fisher folk and organizations such as the Sandals Foundation, who works within the community where its parent company operates Sandals South Coast resort) have key interests in protecting the environment.

Prior to the implementation of the Whitehouse and Bluefields Solid Waste Reduction Project, solid waste was managed solely by the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) and there was also no available plastic recycling option aside from a short period of time in Beeston Spring and at Sandals South Coast. The project introduced the separation of waste through the implementation of recycling and compost bins in order to divert waste from the landfill and reduce pollution.

Let’s Clean Up through Recycling & Composting!

Approximately 4,500 lbs of plastic bottles and 2,500 lbs of compost were collected. These materials were collected using some 200 bins that were distributed throughout the communities of Whitehouse and Bluefields in schools, bars, the police stations, the market to name a few.

Considering the global call to action to #BeatPlasticPollution campaign, the residents of Bluefields and Whitehouse in Westmoreland participated in a beach clean-up prior to the launch on June 8, 2018 in commemoration of World Oceans Day. A total of 32 community members participated in the launch activity. Over 300lbs of garbage was collected which threatens the growing populations of marine life and the livelihoods of local fishermen.

This system of collection and distribution was effective during the project and is recommended for the future. In order to achieve a sustainable system of collection for these materials, without the use of project funds, the government’s bottle refund scheme will need to be fully implemented (expected in 2020).

The 2,500 lbs of compost material collected has thus far produced approximately 500 lbs of mature compost. This compost was tested on seedlings by a community representative in June and July 2019 and these seedlings have shown successful growth results. Approximately 200 lbs of compost has also been sold to local farmers.

These community members included local business leaders, the Community Development Committee, Regional Fisheries Officials, Chairpersons of the Gilling’s Gully Fisherman’s Cooperative and the Parish Development Committee among others.

Social, Land and water surveys were conducted monthly in Bluefields and Whitehouse by divers within the Marine Sanctuaries to provide the baseline information on the litter observed and collected. The increasing quantities of diverted waste (i.e. compost material and recyclables) over the course of the project increasingly utilized these new opportunities of waste disposal.

The communities of Whitehouse and Bluefield’s were engaged in public awareness programmes on proper waste management practices. Information is presented in posters, handouts, elevator speech, communication plan and branding guidelines.

Bin Distribution

Over 200 labelled bins were placed in 34 separate locations in the south coast communities of Whitehouse and Bluefields. These locations included 17 schools, 1 health centre, 2 community centres, churches and police stations, 6 bars/pubs, throughout the marketplace and at various residential locations within the two communities.

Bins have been placed in communities in sets of three at different locations within the communities of Whitehouse and Bluefield’s. These waste bins have been placed in groups of threes, in order to allow for the separation of waste into Plastics, Compostable material yard & vegetable waste) and Garbage. Recycling Partners of Jamaica will collect the recyclables once per month.

Public Education Campaign

Outreach efforts impacted approximately 2,400 students and over 1,045 adults in the area. A social media campaign was also launched on June 5th, 2019.

For the campaign, twelve digital posters were created and shared by all the partners over the course of six weeks on various social media platforms including: Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.

This campaign was created to reach more community members through social platforms as social surveys indicated that many heard about community news via “word of mouth”. Public outreach in the community continued with community meetings and community walks. Visits to schools lessened in the summer months due to the end of the term.

Community Livelihood Training

Livelihood training was conducted in the form of an Upcycling Workshop at the Whitehouse Community Centre on July 12th, 2019. Facilitators for the workshop included Bianca Young and Jordan Williams from the Sandals Foundation, Haniff Richards from Sandals Resorts International and Robert Grant, a local artist who specializes in Environmental Art. The workshop was broken into two sessions with different activities being done in each session. The workshop was attended by 21 community members as well as representatives from UN Environment (4) and NSWMA (4). The first session included jewellery making and the items made were paper bead bracelets, cork earrings, and lionfish earrings. The second session was making bins from plastic bottles with guidance from Haniff Richards who conducted a similar project with Sandals Resorts International. Both sessions also included a brief presentation about upcycling and the products that were going to be made.

The workshop was well received by the community with all the participants being well engaged and enthusiastic throughout the workshop and showing interest in a future session being held.

Learn more about the launch of the Trash Free Litter Partnership in this pilot country

Upscaling Activities| Jamaica

Under the framework of the Caribbean Regional Node for Marine Litter Managament, the Whitehouse & Bluefields Solid Waste Reduction Project in Jamaica is set to benefit from a grant to further enhance the institution of a waste management system upgrade in Bluefields, sustainable meals in schools, improved plastic waste storage and transportation, sustainable compost business startup, and a video case study of the project.

The following activities are to be implemented within a two month duration:

Activity 1: Waste Management Upgrade in Bluefields

In consultation with the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), waste management in Bluefields will be upgraded with the construction of a metal garbage skip to replace the existing waste disposal system, which includes an undersized and incomplete waste collection structure.

The objective is to improve solid waste management by increasing the capacity of waste collection thereby reducing the overflow of waste along the roadside collection area by the Bluefields River and to prevent waste from entering the Bluefields River.

Activity 2: Sustainable Meals in Schools

In order to provide schools with a more sustainable framework for meals and reduce the reliance on and eliminate the use of Styrofoam containers in line with ban effective 2020, students will benefit from approximately 3,000 reusable items (plates, cups, containers and utensils) for meals for approximately 2000- 3,000 students in at least 5 schools in the communities of Whitehouse and Bluefields. .This will also increase awareness among students, teachers, and other staff at schools on the importance of using re-usable items.

Activity 3: Compost Business Startup

This will involve enhancing the compost business structure and assist with start up costs for the existing community compost product to be brought to market. This will include the purchase and design of packaging and labeling, as well as the delivery of a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Business Training by a local trainer.

The activity involves training for 1-5 persons in Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Business Training. It will include the Two hundred (200) labeled bags for use over 1 year (40-50lbs compost per bag) as well.

Activity 4: Super Sacks for Plastic Waste Storage

Another activity will involve 10 labelled Super Sacks for storage and transportation of from the holding area to the recycling plants at the Recycling Partners of Jamaica, These sacks, sourced overseas, would be used to store plastics at the storage site in Whitehouse and then be used to transport the bottles by the Recycling Partners of Jamaica (RPJ). The super sacks will be maintained by the Whitehouse Marine Sanctuary and RPJ.

Activity 5: Video Case Study

Video Case Study is to be produced with testimonials and coverage of key project activities including waste separation, plastic recycling, composting, public education and outreach, livelihood training.

This will summarize the process, best practices, lessons learned, achievements and facilitate knowledge sharing with policy makers, NGOs and other persons interested in creating similar projects or implementing waste management policies.

Panama

What’s happening in the Juan Diaz Coastal Communities?

Marine Litter Partnership project

‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind’ | Changing the State of Marine Litter Globally

Environmental Education

Given the environmental problems in the Juan Diaz lower watershed in relation to the management of solid waste, training sessions on the management of litter, impacts on public and ecosystems health and options to improve the current waste management situation have been completed.

Training sessions focus on the proper management of solid waste and the 3Rs: Reduction, Reuse and Recycling aimed at responsible consumption and good environmental practices. The environmental education activities completed are as follows.

Beneficiaries of Educational programmes

449 students have benefitted from the training and capacity building activities: Four Educational Institutions (Grades 9-12) have been trained (50 students of Dr. Alfredo Canton Institute; 30 students of Elena Chanvez de Pinate School; 269 students of Professional and Technical Institute of Juan Diaz and 100 students of General Basic School Ernesto T. Lefeuvre)
Capacity of commercial institutions have been strengthened: 2 Commercial Institutions were trained on the 3Rs (Gran Morrison Store and Christian Library CLC Libros Los Pueblos Shopping Center, Juan Diaz)
10 Volunteers trained on the 3Rs for the sensitization project in Juan Diaz river
Excursion to the project in Juan Diaz River: Students were taken to the project site in Juan Diaz river and were able to assess the water quality

Learn more about the launch of the Trash Free Litter Partnership in this pilot country

Why is the Trash Free Waters Initiative essential for the Wider Caribbean Region?

Marine litter is a growing issue, as is seen on beaches, coasts, and marine ecosystems everywhere. While a wide range of materials consist of marine litter, the majority is in the form of plastics, where they can persist in the marine environment for hundreds of years or even longer.

Over time, due to prolonged sun exposure and other physical and chemical elements, plastics deteriorate into numerous tiny fragments called microplastics, which can easily enter the food web, thus posing threats to marine life, coral reefs, coastal ecosystems, and human health.

The US Environmental Protection Agency works internationally in the Wider Caribbean Region through our obligations under the Land-Based Sources Protocol to the Cartagena Convention, which focuses on reducing land-based sources of marine pollution in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.

In the wider Caribbean Region, up to 80% of marine litter comes from land-based sources of solid waste and approximately 65% of that waste is disposed of in open dumps, inland waterways, coastal water bodies, or directly into the Caribbean Sea.

The EPA-UNEP-CEP-Peace Corps partnership works together with government agencies and communities in the region to help address solid waste management issues and reduce the amount of trash from entering Caribbean waters.

The Value of Partnership

EPA, Peace Corps and the United Nations Environment Programme’s Caribbean Environment Programme are working together to address marine litter through efforts to reduce the amount of trash flowing into the Caribbean Sea. This partnership supports Peace Corps Volunteers on the ground to take actions in their local communities to reduce land-based sources of trash and help national governments take action on preventing trash from reaching their waters.

Peace Corps Jamaica and Peace Corps Panama are aligning their ongoing solid waste management work implemented by Volunteers in rural communities with the Trash Free Waters approach which will ensure a connection between community-based work and the high visibility marine litter issue.

As a regional body, UN Environment CEP continues to engage the national governments in the Wider Caribbean Region. EPA also provides training on the TFW approach, develop new and adapt available tools for improved solid waste management.

Trash

How does the Trash Free Waters Initiative work?

The Trash Free Waters in the Caribbean Initiative builds upon EPA’s national TFW Initiative (TFW) which is a successful approach to helping address the US contribution to the marine litter problem. TFW uses a collaborative, stakeholder-based approach to prevent trash from entering the ocean. There are three phases to TFW: Assessment, Dialogue and Planning, and Project Implementation.

The Initiative also facilitates dialogue among stakeholders to discuss latest research, ideas, and strategies to develop and expand their goals of reducing marine litter and trash, primarily at the source. The stakeholder identification process involved partnership with the national governments and UN Environment CEP in order to have them participate and be included at the launch meeting and subsequent dialogue and planning.

UN Environment CEP uses its role in the Caribbean through the Land-Based Sources Protocol to the Cartagena Convention to address marine litter reduction and prevention. As pilot countries, the initial focus is on Panama and Jamaica and Governments of both countries are assisted to pull together ongoing marine litter work to help unify the country’s solid waste management message. Trash Free Waters identifies what’s happening in Panama and Jamaica with respect to marine litter prevention and reduction and aligns those efforts to better deliver the appropriate message and take steps towards comprehensive solutions.

In support of the efforts made in the government through EPA and UN Environment CEP, the volunteers of United States Peace Corps are trained so that they can train and facilitate the implementation of small scale projects within their local communities.

The Trash Free Waters Initiative in the Caribbean is expected to:

Work with Governments of Jamaica and UN Environment CEP to help identify stakeholders, which may include government agencies, NGO’s, private sector and industry.
Convene introductory meetings or launch involving stakeholders in both countries to begin the dialogue, and help identify barriers and enhance trash prevention drivers.
Leverage initial financial support for community-based projects in pilot countries.
Share best practices in solid waste management and policy that have been shown to effectively prevent and reduce marine litter.

The Trash Free Waters Initiative began implementation in 2015 and is expected to end by December 2018.

The Trash Free Waters Initiative is co-implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) and its Peace Corps, UN Environment’s Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) and co-executed by pilot countries agencies, National Environment Planning Agency & the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM).

Trash Free Waters Partnership Meetings held

Launch of Community Project in Bluefields and Whitehouse held 8 June 2018
National Trash Free Steering Committee Meeting held 6 March 2018
Partnership Meeting held January 2018
Trash Free Waters Stakeholder Meeting in Panama held 13-17 November 2017
First TFW stakeholder workshop for Jamaica held in February 2017 in Kingston
Launch of the Trash Free Waters (TFW) in Jamaica in August 2016
Launch of the Trash Free Waters (TFW) in Panama in May 2016
Initial meetings with national governments and Peace Corps in both countries.
Panama in November 2015 and Jamaica in January 2016.
Launch of TFW in the Caribbean Initiative at the Our Ocean II Conference in October 2015 in Chile.