PS slams ‘culture of negligence’ on littering

Fijians are dumping rubbish into rivers despite empty skip bins being placed metres away, highlighting a troubling “culture of negligence”, the Permanent Secretary for Environment and Climate Change says.

Dr Sivendra Michael made the remarks after visiting Vatuwaqa earlier this week, where he saw residents dumping waste directly into a river while a large, empty skip bin sat nearby.

“We went on Tuesday. You still see communities where the skip bin is empty, yet people are dumping in the river,” Dr Michael said.

“Just near the bridge, there is a skip bin on the right side, but they are still dumping into the river. This is sad.”

He said the situation pointed to a deeper problem beyond infrastructure or enforcement.

“It is the culture of negligence, the culture of irresponsibility, the lack of civic pride among our citizens,” Dr Michael said.

“They don’t take the effort to put rubbish in the places we have provided.”

Dr Michael questioned whether simply increasing the number of rubbish bins would solve the issue.

“If we are going to increase the number of rubbish bins across the country, do you believe that overnight people will start using them?” he said.

“If they are not even doing it with a huge bin right in front of them, very visible, do you think they will start using smaller bins? I don’t think so.”

He said addressing the problem would require a comprehensive approach, including higher fines, stronger enforcement and sustained community education.

“It cannot be done in six or nine months. It takes time to change infrastructure, to change mindsets and to bring about behavioural change,” Dr Michael said.

The Ministry is developing a communication strategy focused on restoring civic pride and re-establishing the culture of environmental stewardship that existed in traditional Fijian communities.