Instilling waste reduction habits in children
IT is very important to instil the best practices of waste management at a very early age, says Amitesh Deo, the CEO of Waste Recyclers Fiji Ltd (WRFL) and founder of the Pacific Recycling Foundation (PRF).
He said WRFL, through its foundation arm PRF, was vigorously creating awareness on proper waste management and recycling in the country.
“We have specially tailored programs to change mindsets and behaviour,” he said.
Mr Deo said this included the ‘Recycling on the Go’ program at Jai Narayan College and a pilot recycling project at Kabutri Drive in Koronivia.
He said they would also roll out similar programs in the near future that would aim to implement a recycling program at the national and regional levels.
“It takes a lot of planning, effort and resources to get these programs up and running, however, we are committed to ensuring that knowledge regarding proper waste management is properly inculcated in our people.
“A significant part of work revolves around empowering our citizens. This year, we saw 24 Recycling on the Go ambassadors at Jai Narayan College and around 15 recycling advocates at Kabutri Drive, Koronivia, working very closely with PRF in an effort to change mindset and behaviour.
“This is having an impact as we are empowering the communities to become advocates of change.”
Mr Deo said they were also working with a number of educational institutions, including the University of Fiji, Fiji National University and Jai Narayan College.
He confirmed that more institutions were now aligning their sustainability programs with PRF’s waste management and recycling programs.
“At PRF, our programs are designed to achieve this goal. We already have a recycling awareness program in motion at Jai Narayan College and announcements regarding the expansion of such programs in other schools and communities will be made at the Global Recycling Day celebration in March next year.”