Inexpensive, light, durable and versatile, plastic bottles have become a part of everyday life. They have also come to be one of the biggest sources of pollution of our time: one million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute, the majority of which are used just once and thrown away, ending up in landfill or in the ocean.

CAPRI in partnership with the European Union, and with Dr. Suzanne Shaw as the Lead Researcher, is undertaking a study seeking to quantify the costs of establishing and operating a system to manage PET waste in Jamaica.

In Jamaica, recuperation of PET bottles from the waste stream for processing and export to be recycled is currently estimated to be five to ten percent. Therefore, CAPRI's study will assess various measures for PET waste management with a view to recommend a method that will increase recuperation and improve management of PET waste in Jamaica.