20 April 2023, Honiara – The third Steering Committee meeting of the Committing to Sustainable Waste Actions in the Pacific (SWAP) Project hosted in the Solomon Islands has concluded with a renewed commitment by the participants to sustainable waste management actions in the Pacific.
Held from 13 to 16 March 2023 and attended by representatives from Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna, one of the highlights was the launch of the Honiara Used Oil Pilot Project and Honiara Marine Litter Pilot Project, by SWAP and Solomon Islands’ Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM).
The Marine Litter Pilot Project hopes to engage communities in beach clean-ups, and carry out marine litter audits so they could better understand how waste is generated and how to address this problem. To this end, the New Zealand Charity Sustainable Coastlines delivered training to communities in Baudoko Beach in Guadalcanal Province and Tisi Beach in Gizo on how to conduct a statistically sound waste survey and audit.
Mr. Karl Kuper, Deputy Secretary Corporate from MECDM, highlighted the importance of the work in the Solomon Islands, and how this could be applied elsewhere in the Pacific.
“Waste reduction and management will always continue to be challenging, particularly in our developing and small scattered island starting years,” he said. “However, we must believe, we must encourage, we must support and ensure our organisations, our committees, our communities through networks through internationally, regionally, nationally cooperation and continuously through sustainable waste management in the Pacific. We each have a role to play.”
Similar pilot projects are in the pipeline to be implemented in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.
SWAP is funded by the Agence française de développement (AFD) and implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). The three-day Steering Committee Meeting brought countries together with representatives from SWAP, SPREP and AFD to endorse the workplan and budget for the final two years of the project and to discuss potential future collaboration.
Ms Pauline Faye, AFD’s representative, acknowledged the progress thus far but also noted there is much more work to be done.
“We have led a number of activities, such as participating in the International Coastal Clean-up Day, and we have been able, as you can see through the number of videos we have published online, to establish good lines of communication in this project,” she said.
“I think we can be reasonably pleased that we have been able to implement several measures to address marine litter. Well done for what has already been done. But the course mustn’t stop here, we must continue our efforts to reach the target for all activities and to really catch up with the delays. We will continue to mobilise for 2023/2024 to implement approved pilot projects and to submit new pilot projects that will be on used oil management and to ensure greater inclusion of all vulnerable populations in SWAP activities.”
During the Steering Committee, delegates also learnt about the pyrolysis technology through a presentation by the New Zealand – based company Nufuels NZ Ltd.
This company implemented a pilot project in the Solomon Islands, in collaboration with the Solomon Islands Association of Rural Vocational Training Centres, Nufuels NZ Ltd (the developer of the system) and Caritas Aotearoa, funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The pilot project was set up to create an incentive / value for local people to collect plastic waste by being able to easily process the plastics into usable energy in a way that saves them money using the pyrolysis technology. This technology could also be used to dispose other waste streams such as used oil, tyres, organics, etc.
The Steering Committee Members also visited the Design & Technology Centre operated by Mr. Lindsay Teobasi where the first prototype of this technology was set in the Solomon Islands. Participants learned how this technology works and can be used by local communities.
The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade funded pilot project was set up to create an incentive / value for local people to collect plastic waste by being able to easily process the plastics into usable energy in a way that saves them money using the pyrolysis technology. This technology could also be used to dispose other waste streams such as used oil, tyres, organics, etc. The Steering Committee Members also visited the Design & Technology Centre operated by Mr. Lindsay Teobasi where the first prototype of this technology was set in the Solomon Islands. Participants learned how this technology works and can be used by local communities.
In addition, a workshop was held with the national stakeholders involved in Used Oil Management to present and debate on the National Used Oil Management Plan under development for the Solomon Islands.
SWAP aims to improve sanitation, environmental, social and economic conditions in Pacific Island Countries and Territories through proper waste management”. The seven SWAP Pacific islands are Fiji, French Polynesia, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna. New Caledonia will also receive technical support through SWAP.
The Committing to Sustainable Waste Actions in the Pacific (SWAP) Project is funded by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) https://www.afd.fr/ and executed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) https://www.sprep.org/ .
Agence Française de Développement (AFD) implements France’s policy on international development and solidarity. Through its financing of NGOs and the public sector, as well as its research and publications, AFD supports and accelerates transitions towards a fairer, more resilient world. It also provides training in sustainable development (at AFD Campus) and other awareness-raising activities in France.
« With our partners, we are building shared solutions with and for the people of the Global South. Our teams are at work on more than 4,000 projects in the field, in the French Overseas Departments and Territories, in 115 countries and in regions in crisis. We strive to protect global public goods – promoting a stable climate, biodiversity and peace, as well as gender equality, education and healthcare. In this way, we contribute to the commitment of France and the French people to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Towards a world in common. »
For further information please contact Ms Julie Pillet, SWAP Coordinator at [email protected]