Thu, 05 Nov 2009 7:23p.m.
Some of the rubbish in the Ha'apai Islands
A New Zealand based charity is attempting to develop a sustainable waste management system for small Pacific Island states.
The group from the charity ‘Sustainable Coastlines’ has made a start in one of the most difficult places, the Ha'apai Islands in Tonga.
The Ha'apai Islands don't have any form of landfill or recycling system.
Turquoise waters surrounding the cluster of tiny, isolated Ha’apai Islands - it's a sight you'd normally only see in holiday brochures.
Lifuka and Foa are the two biggest in the Ha'apai group. Linked by a narrow causeway, about 4500 people live here
But on the ground and away from the resorts, the picture is not so pretty.
Silua Fifita is a teacher in the village of Faleloa on the northern tip of Foa Island. She lives here with 5 young children and while she takes pride in the small garden outside her front door, her backyard is quite literally a rubbish tip.
Ms Fifita explained that rubbish is dumped in a 50 metre hole in her garden because there’s nowhere else for it to go.
Pits of trash like the one at Ms Fifita's home are common in the villages and even on the beaches.
One of the few ways to get rid of rubbish is to burn it, even the plastic.
There is no central landfill here, nor is there any system for taking the rubbish to the main islands.
Sustainable Coastlines Co-Founder Sam Judd said:
“We are about 20 metres away from the ocean and we have a pile of disposable nappies. And these things are just everywhere out on the beaches.
Judd and a group of volunteers sailed to the islands where they made it their mission to clean up, educate locals, and promote solutions for the future.
Emily Penn, the Operations Manager of Sustainable Coastlines explained:
“We need to have this event for two reasons. We have to create community awareness and get people involved, get them taking part…so that they are the ones that are ultimately carrying on with this.”
Organisers have spent months talking to village leaders about making it work.
Finally the day arrived. And in the village of Faleloa a final briefing was made about how to dispose of different types of rubbish.
The briefing was followed by a spontaneous song of thanks from the villagers and then the hard work began.
From the beaches to the bush, any form of transport available was used to lug rubbish to central collection points.
About 2500 people were involved in a massive spring clean of their islands.
Principal of the local school Meleane Tavake said: “It's very dangerous for our children to see all the rubbish thrown around our school grounds.”
The collected rubbish was left on the roadside and eventually taken to the local navy base where it would be shipped away in containers.
Some of it will end up in landfills in the capital Nuku'alofa, the rest will be shipped to New Zealand for recycling.
Much of what makes up the piles of waste is plastic bottles and cans of tinned meat and fish. Village leaders say locals’ reliance on foreign groceries has sky rocketed over the past few years
Last year, New Zealand exported more than $50 million worth of produce to Tonga.
Of that, $3.1 million worth was prepared or preserved meat.
There's been a gradual shift away from locally sourced food to cheap imported products.
Ms Fifita said: “I think nowadays, there's nothing like coconuts or papaia from the bush. It's easier for them to get it from the shop.”
The rubbish is even threatening the unique marine life around the Ha'apai's including a breeding ground for rare humpback whales.
A Tongan health boss says changing the habits of the Tongan people is just one challenge the country faces when it comes to improving waste management.
CEO of Tonga’s Health Ministry Siale Akauola said:
“That's the problem with Tonga. There are so many competing priorities in health and often the environmental aspect of things suffer.”
Despite finding limitations, New Zealand Aid has indicated it would be willing to help fund a longer term more eco-friendly rubbish system.
But in the meantime, shipping the rubbish elsewhere is considered the best solution.
Ms Penn said: “It's a very, very low-lying island unsuitable for landfill for fear of contaminating the water table and it's already quite contaminated. You can't drink any water from the tap here.”
A quick fix for this problem isn't realistic but at least the Kiwis from Sustainable Coastlines left the islands knowing they've started a new way of thinking.
