28 years of recycling, protecting Fiji’s environment
If it wasn’t for recycling company, Waste Recyclers Fiji Pte Ltd and the waste pickers, imagine the increased amount of waste that would be leaking out into the environment.
These were the words of Waste Recyclers Fiji Pte Ltd director marketing and growth, Joseph Deo as the company celebrated their 28th anniversary at their Navutu yard in Lautoka on Wednesday.
Mr Deo said the Waste Recyclers Fiji Pte Ltd was the only recycling company in Fiji being sustainable and consistent in the way collection of recyclables was done and how the company sorted out the
recyclables.
These recyclables are then exported to where they get recycled to another product.
He said about 14 informal waste pickers from Vunato, Lautoka were an important key stakeholder for the company.
“If we are not in the picture as a recycling company and the waste pickers are not involved in the trade, you can imagine the waste that is entering the landfill and the dumpsites and leaking out to the environment and the environmental damage that Fiji could face for the last 28 years,” Mr Deo said.
He also said the Naboro landfill was exhausted up to this very stage due to the large amount of waste that was taken there.
Alongside this, Mr Deo added that the Savusavu dumpsite also contributed to the devastation of the environment and to the surrounding communities affecting their livelihoods as they were dependent on the coastal areas where the dumpsites were located.
Lautoka City Council senior health inspector, Shalend Singh said an estimated amount of 35 to 40 tons of recyclables were normally recovered from the informal waste pickers.
“We have estimated around 35 to 40 tons of recyclables that they are able to recover from the waste piles, it is not an easy task to recover for reuse and recyclable purposes without any initiative and any return to support their livelihood,” Mr Singh said.