30th November 2018 Guest of Honour, Her Excellency Elena Procuta Acting New Zealand High Commissioner to Tonga officially commissioned the installation of the first set of the 3Rs Waste Minimization Promotion and Waste Management in Makave village, Vava’u on Tuesday, 27 November 2018. Her Excellency was delighted with her government’s support in a new initiative piloted in the Neiafu District Vava’u as promoting waste prevention, waste reduction and recycling holds a strong place in the New Zealand government.
Makave Village is the first to receive this set consisting of a rubbish bin, cage for recyclable items and stand for big rubbish which are collected by Tonga Waste Authority Limited (WAL) on a weekly basis. About 8 and more households will access to one set of 3Rs. The New Zealand government is very supportive as the interest to reduce the amount of waste we put in our garbage bins every day is increasing. The long term objective is to change the behavior of the locals regarding their waste habits promoting the 3Rs. Makave is well known to be the cleanliest village throughout the year in Vava’u, with much support from their chief noble Lord Tu’i’afitu.
The collaborative efforts of the Neiafu District Council, Ministry of MEIDECC and VEPA have proved to work as the local communities are motivated and with increasing interest to ensure a healthy and clean environment is achieved throughout Vava’u. The overall goal of this project is to develop and promote the concept of 3Rs, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle in the community level of Neiafu District, which consist of 9 villages. The Government of New Zealand is providing further support for a combined project to ensure a healthy and clean environment for Vava’u.
There are four components to the project which includes Segregation of the waste material, installation of platform for waste materials, awareness raising through education activities to change perceptions and training of the local Neiafu women on the concept of 3Rs.
Contact: Lucy Fa’anunu, MEIDECC, 70-999