Jamaica’s Plastic Bottle DRS Explained

If you’ve been paying attention to the promotional activities around plastic recycling in Jamaica since 2019, you may have heard mention of a D-R-S, which allows payment for plastics.

What is the D-R-S?

D-R-S stands for Deposit Return Scheme which is defined as a recycling system in which consumers pay a deposit for items, such as products in plastic bottles, which can be refunded on returning the empty item to a location.

In Jamaica, the DRS is implied, rather than a direct correlation between products and payment. What does this mean? In Scandinavian countries for instance, the DRS payments are included in the price of a product at purchase. For example, an item that costs $10 may also add a DRS at 20 cents to be a total of $10.20 at the point of purchase. When that item is emptied and returned to the point of purchase, the 20 cents would be refunded.

Understanding Jamaica's D-R-S

However, as it relates to Jamaica and specifically, plastic bottle recycling, the DRS is implied. RPJ is a collaborative effort between some of the island’s major producers of products in plastic bottles. These manufacturers are required to pay RPJ $1 per plastic bottle produced and this money is then used to implement a proper recycling system in Jamaica. As such, Jamaica’s DRS, is not directly related to each plastic bottle returned.

This method of DRS takes the onus of recycling away from each point of sale of plastic bottles and puts it on Recycling Partners of Jamaica, which is mandated to establish the necessary resources to facilitate the recycling of plastic bottles, which includes: the provision of public education on recycling, setting up plastic bottle processing facilities, collecting the plastics and incentivizing the recycling of plastics by offering up to $50 per kilogram.

Jamaica’s DRS of $50 per kilogram, is payable to any person or organization, except for Government Agencies, interested in monetizing their recycling efforts. To take advantage of the facility, a person or organization will need to register through the website, https://recyclingja.com/sign-up-for-payment/.

‍