When we were out on the little island Matuku, we asked what they did with their rubbish. The headman explained that they know that burning rubbish causes pollution, so they are filling up sinkholes instead.
They would like to reduce their amount of rubbish by recycling, but don’t know how to achieve that. I therefore promised to look into options on Viti Levu, the main island. We found Fiji Waste Recyclers LTd. who are separating and recycling all kinds of materials. They are interested in offering this service to little islands as well and we agreed to work something out together.
When we got to Vuda Marina we were shocked to hear that they “used to separate rubbish, but have stopped to do so”. Walking out on the road we saw heaps of rubbish–people simply chuck whatever they’ve just consumed out of the window. I felt like giving up for a while, but then we got to Denarau Marina where they have separate bins for plastic, cans, bottles, paper, etc. and it’s the same in Musket Cove Marina.
It takes a long time to change people’s minds and I know that there are some efforts underway, they just seems awfully slow and late, given the gigantic plastic pollution problem our planet is struggling with.
