Draft of National Solid Waste Management Plan (Palau)

The Republic of Palau (Palau) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean with a tropical climate and average annual rainfall of approximately 4,000 mm. Palau’s population is approximately 20,000 (Census 2000). The majority of the population lives in Koror State, the capital of Palau; about 14,000 people, or 70% of the total. Like many countries in the Pacific Region, Palau has been facing various kinds of solid waste problems caused by the characteristics of the country, such as lifestyle, high dependence on imports, concentration of population in the capital, limited capacity for solid waste management (SWM), and lack of proper waste management facilities and recycling industries.