Through the Moana Taka Partnership (MTP), Fiji has shipped close to 600 tonnes of recyclable waste out of Fiji for recycling this year.

The partnership is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by The China Navigation Company (CNCo) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment (SPREP) in March last year addressing critical waste management issue in the Pacific islands.

These Fiji figures were confirmed by Swire Shipping Fiji environment liaison officer Virashna Singh yesterday. CNCo is the parent company of SSF.

The MOU allows China Navigation Company (CNCo) vessels carry containers of recyclable waste from eligible Pacific island ports, pro bono, to be sustainably treated and recycled in suitable ports in Asia Pacific.

The shipments from Fiji so far include four containers of waste paper weighing 100.58 tonnes, six containers of waste plastic weighing 147.66 tonnes both from Suva to Vietnam and three containers of waste cardboard weighing 82.85 tonnes from Lautoka to Brisbane.

The shipments from Fiji also included seven containers of scrap metals from Lautoka to Singapore and one container of plastic scrap from Lautoka to Malaysia.

Ms Singh said the latest shipment of recyclable waste out of Fiji was on August 25 which contained four containers of waste cardboard and plastic from Lautoka to Brisbane.

“We are proud of the progress we have made since we had signed the Memorandum of Understanding on MTP last year and we hope to continue with the positive progress,” Ms Singh said.

“We are expecting to move at least 10 more containers of recyclable waste before 2019 ends,” she said.

“Moana Taka Partnership is doing very well. We have moved 29 containers in 36 weeks, that’s almost equivalent to one container per week.

“We have helped 10 different organizations in three countries and dearly look forward to helping other Pacific Island countries as well.

“To help replenish the beauty of the Pacific Island countries, Swire Shipping and SPREP will do as much as we can to remove the waste and send them where they can be recycled responsibly, sustainably and in an environmentally sound way.”
The breakdown so far:

• From Suva to Vietnam, 4 containers (waste paper) – 100.58 tonnes
• From Suva to Vietnam, 6 containers (waste plastic) – 147.66 tonnes
• From Lautoka to Brisbane, 7 containers (waste cardboard) – 140.26 tonnes
• From Lautoka to Malaysia, 1 container (plastic scrap) – 16.68 tonnes
• From Lautoka to Singapore, 7 containers (scrap metal) – 144.42 tonnes.

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