The Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation (MEGJC) has launched its 2025 Plastic Free Summer campaign in an effort
to drive behavioural change around the use of single-use plastics across the island.
Minister without Portfolio in the ministry Matthew Samuda, noted that there had already been positive changes in terms of single use plastic consumption by members of the public.
“We are seeing some success, some that we have had to bring about by (imposing) bans. We’re also seeing people make their own consumption decisions that benefit the environment. You don’t see the scandal bag in the way you used to. There is some leakage in a few industries, but you don’t see the plastic bag in the supermarket the way that you used to”, the minister noted.
Speaking during a recent interview on TVJ’s Smile Jamaica, Samuda emphasised that while plastics are cheap and convenient up front, their long-term impact on the environment is staggering.
“You have a material that takes you two minutes to drink, but then it takes 400, sometimes 450 years for that bottle to fully disappear. It’s cheap up front, but the cost of storing it, processing it, managing it for 450 years is not something we can account for”, he explained.
Running from July through to August, the campaign forms part of the global Plastic Free July movement.
The campaign will include a suite of traditional and digital media promotions, and a local education drive in Downtown Kingston on July 31, where key stakeholders will be engaged, including the business community and residents in the area.
https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2025/07/09/govt-launches-2025-plastic-free-summer-campaign/