Volunteers clean up Gun Boat Beach

Nearly 10,000 pounds of waste were removed from the Kingston Harbour coastline on International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day on September 20, thanks to volunteers from schools, businesses, and community groups.

The beach clean-up at Gun Boat Beach in Kingston was organised by the GraceKennedy Foundation (GKF), in partnership with The Ocean Cleanup and Clean Harbours Jamaica, through the Kingston Harbour Cleanup Project (KHCP).

Recycling Partners of Jamaica supported the event, collecting all plastic waste and engaging volunteers at an educational booth. Participants were encouraged to bring plastics from home for recycling, reinforcing the idea that environmental responsibility starts with individuals.

Caroline Mahfood, CEO of GraceKennedy Foundation, highlighted the importance of such initiatives: "Every item removed from the coastline brings us closer to a cleaner Kingston Harbour and a healthier planet."

GKF has hosted ICC Day activities along Kingston Harbour since 2015 and continues to lead impactful environmental sustainability initiatives through KHCP and other programmes. These efforts aim to foster environmental stewardship, strengthen community partnerships, and protect the harbour for future generations.

Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change Matthew Samuda, who attended this year's event, praised the project's ongoing impact.

"The Kingston Harbour Cleanup Project has already intercepted waste from nine of [Kingston's] 11 most polluting gullies. Thanks to their daily work, we are seeing far less waste in Kingston Harbour than before."

He added, "There's still a long way to go, but this proves that when government, the private sector, and NGOs work together, anything is possible."

Since its launch in 2022, KHCP has removed more than 6.6 million pounds of waste from Kingston Harbour using interceptor barrier technology at the mouths of nine gullies, combined with a series of coastal clean-ups.