‘Just don’t litter’: Tabuya fires back over $200 fine
Environment Minister says new penalty will apply equally as Opposition questions fairness and enforcement
Thursday 20 August 2026 | 05:30
Environment Minister Lynda Tabuya outside Parliament on August 19, 2026.
Photo: Ronald Kumar
Minister for Environment and Climate Change Lynda Tabuya has defended the new $200 littering fine, saying the penalty will apply equally to everyone when it takes effect on September 1.
“Waste, it doesn't discriminate. It is dumped by all, and it affects all. So, just don't litter,” Ms Tabuya told this masthead yesterday.
From next month, littering will attract a $200 spot fine, up from $40, a five-fold increase under amendments to the Litter Act.
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Trained Litter Prevention Officers (LPOs) from municipal councils, the Fiji Police Force and the Land Transport Authority will have the power to issue the fines.
Ms Tabuya confirmed the regulations remained on track to be gazetted by September 1.
On rubbish bins, she said providing them was primarily the responsibility of councils and communities, rather than her Ministry, although partnerships with development partners and climate financing could help fund more bins.
In Parliament on Tuesday, Ms Tabuya said, “Fiji cannot afford to become a throwaway society,” linking littering to flooding, ocean pollution and the National Integrated Waste Management and Pollution Control Strategy 2026-2035.
Opposition MP Virendra Lal questioned whether a flat $200 fine was fair, asking whether a tiered system or hardship provisions had been considered.
He also questioned whether enforcement would reach rural and maritime areas rather than being concentrated in Suva, Nadi and Lautoka.
Mr Lal also asked whether the regulations, which were still with the Solicitor-General’s Office, would be gazetted in time.
Acting Attorney-General Siromi Turaga interjected, “Just do not litter!” while Ms Tabuya responded, “Yes, exactly!” to Mr Lal’s concerns during the debate.
