Government of Jamaica
As the organization with responsibility for improving and maintaining a high standard tourism product, the Tourism Product Development Company Limited (TPDCo) supports the move by the government to ban plastic shopping bags, plastic straws and Styrofoam.
The organization has witnessed the environmental impact of plastic and Styrofoam items, and its potential threat to erode the country’s natural resources and beauty. As stewards of the environment, TPDCo welcomes this effort and the positive shift to protect our environment with a view towards sustainability. The organization is pleased that the Government of Jamaica is now on par with global trends to preserve the earth’s resources, which by extension will improve the health and wellbeing of its citizens.
TPDCo is well aware of the need to eliminate potentially harmful consequences of plastic ending up in our waters and polluting our public spaces. To add its voice to the message of keeping the environment clean, the organization recently participated in the International Coastal Cleanup Day, to which its sister agency, the Tourism Enhancement Fund injected 10 million dollars.
Other initiatives such as recycling competitions have received support by the organization to educate our citizens about the importance of keeping our environs clean. TPDCo has even reached out to a younger target audience by producing a comic series “The Adventures of Sprucey and Limey” which features stories about littering and sensitizes our primary level students about the impact of such practices, on not only our tourism sector, but the island and its people
The tourism sector depends on a clean environment for it to see any growth and expansion. Visitors are naturally attracted to a destination with clean surroundings, which sends the message that the country cares significantly about the health and safety of those who decide to share in the Jamaican experience. TPDCo looks forward to the steps that will be taken over the next few months as Jamaica prepares to join other nations in their quest to protect the environment.