The announcement was made by RPJ Marketing and Communications Manager Candice Ming, who explained what Goule’s role will be during the initial one-year agreement.
“We decided to partner with Natoya for sporting events in particular,” Ming said, “she will be our face in sports as we expand our reach from having the bins and having Sasco’s jingle on the radio. We have been at sporting events. We have been at sporting events, I am not sure if you are familiar with us partnering with the Carifta Games earlier this year for the collection of plastic bottles and so we are expanding the initiative off the success of the Carifta Games including to the National trials this weekend.
“All four days we will be collecting plastics so as we move further into the field of sport you will be seeing a lot more of us, particularly through Natoya and her efforts.”
RPJ Chairman Dr Damien King explained that selecting Goule to be a brand ambassador was a straightforward decision.
“Our proudest moments as a nation have to do with what we have achieved on the track. We want Jamaica to be known just as well for environmental management. We want all Jamaicans and the entire rest of the world to know that Jamaica is serious about having a clean and inviting, beautiful environment. It is natural that our ambitions to be number-one on the track and number-one on the environment come together,” he said.
The 31-year-old Goule, who is on the island for the 2022 National Senior Athletics Championships where she will go for a ninth consecutive title, expressed her delight at being selected for such an important role.
“It is a great pleasure that I am a part of this and I am going to be here to do my part and contribute as much as I can,” said Goule, who RPJ will engage in a number of initiatives islandwide that they intend to roll out. Some of those initiatives will unfold in Goule’s home parish of Manchester, Ming disclosed.
She was speaking at the recent launch of the plastic bottle recycling competition by Recycling Partners of Jamaica between Boston Jerk Centre in Portland and Melrose Hill Yam Park in Manchester. Both establishments will be vying to double their earnings as well as bragging rights for which location can accomplish their collection targets by December 31.
Since the competition began in July, vendors at Melrose Hill Yam Park have collected more than 300kg while those at Boston Jerk Centre have done even better, collecting more than 500kg. The RPJ Brand Ambassadors Agent Sasco, the team leader for Boston Jerk Centre and Natoya Goule, the team leader for Melrose Hill Yam Park, are at the forefront of the initiative.
“I believe this competition is important because it not only allows the citizens of Jamaica to see how important recycling is but also motivates me to let them know that recycling plastic can help to make the environment in a better place,” Goule said following the launch.
She urged Jamaicans to do a better job in keeping the environment clean of non-biodegradables.
“My message to Jamaicans, who continue to litter, is that if we do not take care of Jamaica, who will? If we continue to litter the environment it will not only cause pollution but it will destroy the environment,” she said.
“If someone was supposed to bring litter and throw it inside our homes we wouldn’t like it, so that’s how it is with littering the environment it is not good to throw plastic or garbage on the street and other places.”
For the competition, the two establishments aim to collect plastic waste from their vendors and customers for recycling. Both locations are also public drop-off points for the surrounding communities to take their bagged plastic bottles.
Each location has been set a target, determined by their respective consumption volumes. Boston Jerk Centre was given a target of 2000 kg while Melrose Hill Yam Park has been tasked to collect 1500 kg.
The winner will be determined by the location which reaches its target by December 31. If both locations achieve their targets, the location which exceeds its target by the greater percentage will be the winner.
However, there has been a major challenge because while the vendors at both locations are largely on board with the initiative, community support has been lacking. Committed vendors have had to import plastics from other communities to increase their numbers. This takes away from the objective of the competition, which originally aimed to motivate community recycling.
The locations will be paid $48 for each kilogram collected. Funds will be paid at the end of the competition period, and the winning location will be awarded double their earnings. The funds earned from this competition will be used to improve the infrastructure of the locations.
