Litter fine set to jump to $200

Fijians caught littering could soon face a $200 spot fine – five times the current $40 penalty.

This comes as the Government moves to crack down on the country's worsening waste crisis.

Minister for Environment and Climate Change Lynda Tabuya announced the increase at the launch of the Trashboom initiative in Suva on Monday.

She warned that litter enforcement officers would soon be deployed nationwide.

"Watch out Fiji – our litter enforcement officers are coming out. Please put your rubbish in the bin," she said.

The amended Litter Act regulations are currently with the Solicitor General's Office and are expected to be tabled in Parliament in the coming sittings.

The new rules will also broaden the definition of dangerous litter, extend the law beyond public spaces, and set clearer penalties for individuals versus companies.

More than 370 officers which includes police and Land Transport Authority officers have already been trained to enforce the laws on the ground.

Trashboom Pacific director Wayne Fuakilau, whose company builds and operates the floating river barriers that intercept waste, said the message to the public was simple.

"If you go to a supermarket, you buy a bottle of Coke, after you finish it, you bin it right.

"It's just a matter of simplicity — doing the right thing," he said.

Ms Tabuya said stronger laws were necessary because litter was not a minor issue – it damaged drainage systems, rivers, and ecosystems, and created avoidable costs for councils and taxpayers.

Japan's Ambassador to Fiji, H.E. Hiroshi Tajima, who attended the launch, said plastic pollution was a shared global challenge but its impacts were felt most acutely in island nations like Fiji.