CAPRI Meets with Industry Experts to Share Recommendations for A Deposit Refund Scheme (DRS) for Plastic Bottles

CAPRI’s Executive Director, Dr Damien King, Director of Sustainability – Dr. Suzanne Shaw, and Researcher – Ms. Desiree Phillips met with industry experts on August 28, 2018 and shared the think tank’s recommendations for a Deposit Refund Scheme (DRS) for plastic bottles. Among the group of experts were The Hon. Daryl Vaz, Minister without Portfolio with responsibility for Land, The Environment, Climate Change and Investment, MEGJC; Mr. Anthony McKenzie, Director of Environmental Management and Conservation, NEPA; Mr. Edson Carr, Projects and Planning Manager, NSWMA; Mr. Francois Chalifour, Director Marketing, Wisynco; Mr. Peter Knight, CEO, NEPA; Ms. Gillian Guthrie, Senior Director, Environment and Risk Management Division, MEGJC; Mr. Locksley Smith, Advisor to the Minister, MEGJC; Mr. Simon Roberts, CIO, Grace Kennedy; Mr. Peter Chin, Non-Executive Director, LASCO Financial Services Limited; Mr. Matthew Samuda, Senator; Colonel Martin Rickman, National Coordinator of the Housing, Opportunities, Production and Employment (HOPE) Programme – Office of the Prime Minister; Mr. William Mahfood, Chairman, Wisynco; Ms. Diana McCaulay, Director, JET, Mr. Metry Seaga, President, JMEA; and Mr. Stephen Forbes, Policy and Research Economist, JMEA.

Dr. Shaw posited that the DRS is economically and financially viable for managing PET waste in Jamaica but must have high enough deposit rate to be effective. Therefore, convenience of returns is key to a successful DRS. She also highlighted that a central administration body should manage the DRS and it should be industry led and owned. “State-owned systems tend to be less flexible to accommodating changes in the evolution of the DRS and do not reinvest sufficiently in DRS for ongoing operational efficiency”, Shaw explained.