Vava’u Ko e Feitu’u Malu mei he Veve
Making Vava’u a Refuge from Waste
Waste Management Advocacy, Education and Action Proposal
Aim: To increase awareness and community advocacy about waste management and recycling in Vava’u. Provide support for community initiatives and encourage policy change.
Mission: To create a cleaner, healthier environment through the management and recycling of waste, education and awareness campaigns and advocacy of the environment to the communities.
Background:
Vava’u has a significant waste management problem spanning through a lack of education, enforcement and advocacy. The amount of trash in the public areas of the market and town has received poor tourism ratings as well as continuing health disadvantages.
A lack of rubbish bins and collection has made the management of waste difficult, the Ministry of Health removed the bins from the town area 3 years ago due to lack of money for the collection.
Everyday people drop their trash on the floor around these public areas, the build up of plastics, drink cans and glass is increasing and the health and environment disadvantages are becoming more notable.
Yearly clean ups have had minimal effect, and do not promote and ongoing management proposals.
GIO recycling started a centre up here in 2010, they collect glass, metals, plastic bottles, batteries and old cars.
Objectives:
- Provide manageable waste collection points through town and public areas.
- To provide education and awareness programs through the youth on the problems with waste on the ground
- To advocate to community leaders about their role in protecting the environment and health of the communities.
- Provide support for waste management initiatives in villages.
- To advocate for policy changes including enforcement and assistance.
The project will be based over five years with an annual review to implement progression and adaptations. The estimated time for the start of the project will be May 2011. Local businesses will be asked to pledge their support of the project as well as community meetings.
Activities to be included in the first year
- Puppet show on waste management and recycling at the Library Fun Day 21st May 2011.
- Awareness and Education Day at the Market on recycling and disposal of waste
- Media presentations for both the radio and tv stations, to be implemented and proposed by the Conservation Youth Group.
- Placing recycling bins in public areas, monitoring and collections to be organized and then passed to communities.
- Community meetings on ownership and advocacy of their waste and the affects on the environment.
Funding
NZ Tourism Growth Fund has been approached for funding to bring in recycling bins for the market and town areas.
Local businesses will be asked to fund and support an area.
Collection money from GIO will be put back into the project for maintenance and monitoring of the waste.
US Grant money of TOP9000 and NZ Home Fund of TOP3000 will be used for education, media presentations.
Currently the main disposal methods for solid waste in Vava’u include dumping rubbish in the bush, or burning it in the yard. Dumping and burning waste is harmful to the environment and local health for numerous reasons. Solid waste left in the bush attracts rats and flies that can spread disease, while empty tins and plastic bags collect rainwater that serves as a breeding ground for dengue mosquitoes. Also water run-off, gusts of wind, and reckless dumping can result in much of the waste leaking into the ocean where it will harm marine life by polluting mangrove and coral reef habitats. In deeper ocean, whales, turtles, and birds can be choked or strangled to death by plastic bags they mistake for jellyfish. In Vava’u, waste that isn’t left to float in the natural environment is indiscriminately put in piles and burned in local yards. The Second Vava’u Development Program estimated that 94.3% of waste is burned in Vava’u. This frequent reliance on burning rubbish is extremely concerning. The smoke produces a mixture of chemical gases that can affect people’s health and over time cause cancer and birth defects. Also poisonous particles that float from the burnt rubbish can contaminate soil and drinking water. Finally, burning rubbish contributes to climate change by releasing greenhouse gases.
For locals in Vava’u the only alternative to burning their solid waste or leaving it in the bush is to bring it to the local dump (Villages in Vava’u don’t have trashcans, or a trash pick-up for their solid waste so it’s an individual’s responsibility). However the state of the current dump has it’s own set of problems. A team of experts from Fitchner Water and Transportation services completed a year long consultancy on the waste situation of Vava’u, Tonga through a €200,000 grant from the European Union. The team looked at the only legal dumping site in Vava’u and deemed the situation “pitiable“, writing “long-term operation is obsolete”. The dump is poorly managed, does not use proper landfill methods, and mixes non-toxic and toxic waste (including used hospital supplies). Furthermore concern has been raised that contaminated water run-off from the dump is polluting the nearby ocean, and poisoning the marine population where a local village, Okoa, catches fish. A new site has been identified and the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Works, and Ministry of Environment are in the process of negotiating plans for a proper landfill and long-term solution for waste. While making plans for improving waste infrastructure, the consultancy stressed the need to hold public awareness programs to educate people on solid waste. The priority of topics they identified include: Explaining different types of solid waste, how to reduce the quantity of waste produced (and why this is important), recycling for profit, re-using items, composting, and the benefits of a new waste system.
The Vava’u Environmental Protection Association (VEPA) consists of a group of local leaders dedicated to conserving a healthy and natural environment in Vava’u for future generations. Members of the group include representatives from the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Natural Resources, the Vava’u Youth Congress, and Tonga Community Development Trust (a grassroots development organization) who have strong ties in the local community, and the ability to mobilize and motivate change. Other members are teachers and educators that can lead a campaign to inform locals about the health and environmental concerns Vava’u is facing because of improper waste disposal. VEPA will be collaborating with Sustainable Coastlines, a New Zealand NGO that has had great success organizing previous coastal clean-ups. Last year Sustainable Coastlines led over 3,000 volunteers on Tonga’s islands of Ha’apai to pick-up and sort through 120 truckloads of plastic, steel, aluminum, glass and other wastes. Sustainable Coastlines has a reputation for organizing efficient and effective mass clean-ups. Together VEPA and Sustainable Coastlines make an incredible team, working towards solutions for Vava’u’s waste problem.
VEPA and Sustainable Coastlines plan on mobilizing several thousand locals in Neiafu, Vava’u to clean up solid waste. Leading up to the event, they will hold waste education presentations in communities and schools. They will designate different leaders to organize community clean up zones, Monday through Thursday. On Friday, the Secondary Schools will compete in a competition to collect costal waste. Each day trucks will transport the collected and sorted rubbish from the communities to the Neiafu harbor where volunteers will load bags in giant containers. The containers will be shipped to the capital, Nuku’alofa, where Waste Authority will receive them and bring the waste to Tapuhia, a proper landfill. Gio recycling will also be ready to pick up containers and take recycled-goods to their crushing center for processing. The event will educate everyone about different types of waste, and the clean up will make a huge statement about the need for proper waste disposal infrastructure on the islands. In addition, removing tons of waste from coastal habitats will save the lives of many marine species that are important for Vava’u’s biodiversity and sustainable livelihoods, and cleaning the area will prevent the spread of disease and keep the area aesthetically pleasing. The awareness generated from the event will be used towards leveraging a continued campaign for long-term solid waste solutions in Vava’u.
The Ministry of Environment, Health, Education, and Tourism as well as the honorable Lord Luani (Governor of Vava’u) are all supporting this initiative after detailed consultation. The Vava’u Secondary Schools Association has given permission for secondary school students to help with the event as part of their academic curriculum. This clean up will be an important campaign for waste awareness in Vava’u, and VEPA (based in Neiafu) will be continuing to work in the area to assure the effects are sustainable.
References:
Solid Waste Management Project Waste It Doesn’t Go Away Nuku’alofa, Tonga: Ministry of Works, Jan 2006: No. 3 v1
World Wide Fund for Nature Ocean Pollution Switzerland 2010 Online: http://www.panda.org/about_our_earth/blue_planet/problems/pollution/
Fitchner Identification Stage Report Solid Waste Management Consulting Services: Vava’u Development Program 11 2000.
