PSOJ backs ban on plastic and Styrofoam

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Oct 20, CMC – The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) is expressing support for the government’s move to ban single-use plastic bags, straws and styrofoam, noting that the materials are hazardous to health and the environment.
“I think we have to do it. We have even written to the Government stating that we want to be a part of the implementation team, because there is no question that plastics are bad for us and the environment,” said PSOJ president, Howard Mitchell.
“Most of us use plastics in our lives, so we have to work out ways to accommodate a transition. We are in favour of limiting, reducing and eventually eliminating the use of plastics in this country”.
Earlier this month, the Andrew Holness government said it would launch an educational campaign surrounding the impending ban on the importation, manufacture, distribution and use of specific categories of plastic packaging materials.
The ban, which starts January 1, 2019, relates to single-use plastic carrier/shopping bags; expanded polystyrene foam, commonly referred to as styrofoam; and plastic drinking straws.
Mitchell told reporters after a tour of business process outsourcing (BPO) companies at the Montego Bay Free Zone and Barnett Tech Park in St. James, that the organisation welcomes collaborations with the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ) and urged that BPO companies consider joining the PSOJ in an effort to effect change in the private sector.
BPIAJ president, Gloria Henry, noted that greater partnership with the PSOJ would be mutually beneficial.
“We (BPO sector) have been employing thousands of individuals and have seen increased foreign exchange earnings annually. We want greater collaboration with the PSOJ for combined advocacy to address challenges. We want to promote business-to-business linkages between BPO and other sectors,” she said.
Henry noted that BPO is one of the fastest-growing sectors in Jamaica, with 60 companies employing 32,000 individuals and others to come on stream.