The ‘Beat Plastic Pollution JA’ competition was kicked off by the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) and partners on World Environment Day, June 5.

It is a joint United Nations initiative aimed at highlighting the urgent need for action to reduce plastic pollution, which is a major challenge in the Caribbean and globally.

The competition, will run until June 23, sees Jamaican students demonstrating “the urgent need to work across the plastic life cycle and articulate different strategies to reduce and reuse plastic”

JAMAICA’S YOUNG people are being given an opportunity to identify or otherwise champion solutions to the growing problem of plastics pollution, with the launch of the competition dubbed ‘Beat Plastic Pollution JA’.

The competition was kicked off by the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) and partners on World Environment Day, June 5.

 Plastic pollution could reduce by 80 per cent by 2040 if countries and companies make deep policy and market shifts using existing technologies, according to a new report by UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The report is released ahead of a second round of negotiations in Paris on a global agreement to beat plastic pollution, and outlines the magnitude and nature of the changes required to end plastic pollution and create a circular economy.

Geneva, 25 May 2022 – Paint reformulation is entirely possible, and the industry can produce paint without added lead. However, a lack of technical knowledge; a lack of awareness of the health and environmental hazard of lead and where to source lead-free alternatives, as well as a shortage of lead paint laws in the countries where they are based mean many small manufacturers around the world are still producing hazardous lead paint.

Pollution, including marine litter, plastics, sewage, oil and chemicals, impacts the value of the goods and services provided by the oceans, including quality of fisheries and the pristine marine environment highly valued by the tourism sector. The region is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of marine pollution due to the dependence of its people on natural resources in combination with its vast exposed coastlines. Understanding and addressing marine pollution in the region is an economic and social priority in addition to the environmental threat.