KFTL /

With the government’s recent introduction of a ban on plastic bags and straws, Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) is reporting that it has recycled over 100,000 plastic bottles in over seven months, since the launch of its environmental initiative, “KFTL Go Blue.”

Since June 2018, KFTL has separated and sent for recycling approximately 105,570 plastic bottles and 656lbs of cardboard. The facility, which employs some 1200 workers, has also discontinued the use of single-use plastic straws and has substituted styrofoam food-ware with biodegradable containers at its canteen facility.

“This was possible through the collective efforts of KFTL staff and partners,” noted Christopher Gayle, Environmental Specialist at KFTL. “We look forward to continued support in 2019, when we will seek to increase productivity while reducing the environmental impact of our operations through the implementation of additional initiatives,” he said.

The campaign, which was launched on World Environment Day (June 5, 2018), features various initiatives to improve waste management, energy and resource conservation at the facility. This includes placing colour-coded bins in strategic locations across the terminal to facilitate separation of waste streams by staff and stakeholders. The separated waste is then collected by KFTL’s designated contractor, Recycling Partners of Jamaica.

The New Causeway Fishing Complex on Dyke Road in Portmore, St. Catherine, was the beneficiary of Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited’s (KFTL) cleanup efforts  during International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day on September 15, 2018.

The cleanup was executed by over 86 KFTL staff as well as volunteers from the Rotary Club of Spanish Town and fisherfolk from the New Causeway Fishing Village.

Over 150 bags of garbage were collected during the activity and from that amount, 87 bags totaling 657lbs or approximately 20,000 plastic bottles were separated and handed over to the Recycling Partners of Jamaica following the cleanup.

The ICC Day partnership with the New Causeway Fishing Village is in direct alignment with KFTL’s continued support to near port communities and forms part of the company’s corporate social responsibility programme.

In addition to cleaning up the fishing beach, KFTL volunteers also gathered data on the garbage collected which will be used by the Ocean Conservancy and Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) to educate and advocate for improved waste management practices and policies.

This is the second year in which KFTL has joined in the ICC activities, organizing and sponsoring its own cleanup efforts at the selected location and helping to raise awareness about waste and its impact on the environment.

KFTL, earlier this year, also launched an environmental campaign at its facility, which features various initiatives to improve waste management, energy and resource conservation. These include a recycling campaign KFTL has discontinued the supply of single-use plastic straws at its canteen facility and is advancing plans to replace styrofoam food-ware with bio-degradable containers.

ICC Day, which takes place on the third Saturday in September every year, is the largest one-day volunteer event in the world and has been coordinated globally by the Ocean Conservancy since 1985 and locally by JET since 2008.

As the world continues to observe “Plastic Free July,” Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) is reporting that in just six weeks since the launch of its environmental initiative, “KFTL Go Blue: Recycling Begins with you,” approximately 30,000 plastic bottles (or 970 lbs) have been separated for recycling by its over 1000 employees.

The campaign, which was launched on World Environment Day (June 5), features various initiatives to improve waste management, energy and resource conservation at the facility. This includes placing colour-coded bins in strategic locations across the terminal to facilitate separation of waste streams by staff and stakeholders. The separated waste is then collected by KFTL’s designated contractor, Recycling Partners of Jamaica.

“The support has been remarkable so far from both staff and stakeholders,” noted Christopher Gayle, Environmental Specialist at KFTL. “We are cognizant of the fact that waste separation practices are part of an overall behavioural change which is necessary for us to see real impact, so we will continue to raise awareness so that the efforts are seen not just on the port but also in our wider communities,” he added.

The major objective of the KFTL Go Blue initiative is to reduce the environmental footprint of KFTL’s operations through energy/resource conservation and recycling/ solid waste management.

In addition, KFTL has discontinued the supply of single-use plastic straws at its canteen facility and is progressing with plans to replace styrofoam food-ware with bio-degradable containers.

The Recycling Partners of Jamaica reported that between March 2014 and March 2017, it collected over 3.3 million pounds of plastic – or over 100 million plastic bottles – from the environment in Jamaica.