From left: Andrew Stewart, NWSMA truck driver; Khalia Hall, ESIROM sustainability coordinator; and Alex Morrissey, ESIROM boss, join fisherman and environmentalist, Densel Edwards; Kimberley Blair, and NSWMA community relations officers for a clean-up at the Kingston Harbour.
THE ESIROM Foundation has begun another phase of its ongoing ‘Plastic Free’ educational campaign, forging a partnership with the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) for a new Kingston Harbour Clean-up Initiative.
“We aim to build a waste collector boat attachment to collect garbage in Kingston Harbour both on and below the water surface. The structure will be a catamaran style with a wooden platform mounted on top of two rows of hollow plastic drums,” said sustainability coordinator with ESIROM, Khalia Hall.
“It is anticipated that clean-ups will be carried out biweekly with the assistance of approximately five individuals on-board the boat,” she added.
The partnership with NSWMA will see them carrying out their waste collection services after clean-ups are carried out at a designated pick-up location.
“This assistance will greatly enhance our clean-up efforts and have a significant impact on reducing plastic waste in the Kingston Harbour area,” Hall noted.
In the past seven months, ESIROM has rolled out a number of initiatives.
They include the BringYourOwn Cup initiative during Christmas and during the Earth Hour Concert, and most recently, a four-part social media series with fisherman and environmentalist Densel Edwards, also known popularly as Trevor, on the Kingston Harbour. The series focused on the after-effects of Christmas, World Cup and New Year – celebrations that generated leftover flags lost at sea, wrapping paper and fabric waste.
Khalia Hall, ESIROM sustainability coordinator, and Densel Edwards, fisherman and environmentalist, on one of their many trips taken to capture and show on social media the state of the harbour and its effects.
Source: The Gleaner