Kingston, Jamaica, has eleven major drainage canals – known as gullies – that were originally intended to prevent flooding by rapidly moving storm water into the harbour. But when plastic pollution of those gullies surged, pollution of the harbour became a problem. Now the harbour is home to an innovative capture and cleanup system that is helping chart future directions for cleaning up 1,000 of the world’s most polluted rivers.

The Kingston Harbour Cleanup Project is using technology developed in the Netherlands by The Ocean Cleanup, and working with Jamaican partners GraceKennedy Foundation, one of the Caribbean’s largest community service groups, and Clean Harbours Jamaica, which oversees the restoration of natural harbors, gullies, and streams on the island, to clean up the harbour.

In September, during International Coastal Cleanup Day 2023, more than 500 volunteers recovered more than 13,000 pounds of waste from Gun Boat Beach, and the GraceKennedy Foundation was awarded the prestigious 2022 RJRGleaner Honour Award for its successful facilitation of the project.