National Policy for the Environmentally Sound Management of Hazardous Wastes.

This Policy, in compliance with the goal of a healthy natural environment, included in the Jamaica’s National Development Plan - Vision 2030, moves from the consideration that hazardous wastes are dangerous to health and the environment, and focuses on the effective management of the country’s natural resources to ensure the continued provision of essential environmental services, and the internalisation of the cost of pollution and environmental damage into the production costs of all economic activities. The Policy concerns the environmentally sound management of hazardous waste, in order to take all the practicable steps to protect the human health and the environment against the adverse effects of the waste, and in order to comply with Jamaica’s obligations under key multilateral environmental agreements and arrangements related to the management of chemicals and hazardous wastes. The main goal of this Policy and its related objectives acknowledge the fundamental right of Jamaicans to enjoy a healthy and productive environment free from the threat of injury or damage from environmental degradation of the ecological heritage, and therefore the Policy focuses on: the institution of an hazardous waste management frameworks at the national and local levels; the improvement of education programmes and awareness raising at all levels of society, to support and facilitate active participation in the decision- making process; the promotion of sustainable financing mechanisms for hazardous wastes management.
Concerning the impacts of hazardous waste generation, the Policy concerns: groundwater contamination; contamination of large water bodies; contamination of fresh and coastal water; air pollution and associated health effects; spills contaminating soil and surface water; land contamination; impacts on the health of marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The Policy defines the following guiding principles: integrated life-cycle principle; precautionary principle; integrated pollution control; least transboundary movement principle; polluter pays principle; public participation; principle of sovereignty in establishing a national waste management structure; sustainable production and consumption. The Policy concerns the implementation of the following objectives with related actions and measures: strengthening of the regulatory framework of hazardous waste management, using an integrated life-cycle approach, regulating the storage, treatment, transportation, reuse, recycling, recovery, export and final disposal of hazardous wastes; upgrade and institution of infrastructural works; minimisation of generation of hazardous waste; encouraging joint ventures and partnerships between the public and private sectors and public interest groups in financing national hazardous wastes management initiatives.