Deo: This Diwali, let’s clean Fiji — not just our homes

As Fijians prepare to celebrate Diwali, the Pacific Recycling Foundation (PRF) is urging the public to look beyond the traditional cleaning of homes and embrace a broader call to “clean Fiji” — through collective action, mindset change, and accountability toward waste.

PRF founder Amitesh Deo said the Festival of Lights should be a reminder that true brightness lies not in decoration or display, but in the choices people make to protect the environment.

“Every Diwali, we sweep, scrub, and polish our homes to perfection. Yet, much of this cleaning ends with piles of mixed waste being dumped into dumpsites, drains, empty lots, or rivers. That is not cleanliness, it is displacement,” Mr Deo said.

He said Fijians must stop viewing cleanliness as confined within their own homes, and instead see the entire planet as a shared home.

“We must stop calling only our house ‘home.’ The planet is our home. When we clean our homes but pollute our environment, we are simply moving the waste from one part of our home to another. This illusion of cleanliness must end,” he said.

Mr Deo said real change will only happen when people shift from “convenience to consciousness” and take personal responsibility for the waste they produce.

“Waste does not disappear when it leaves your gate — someone else, often our Collection Pillars of Recycling, bear the burden of what we discard,” he said.

He also called on communities, businesses, and institutions to move beyond symbolic gestures and focus on building structured recycling systems that enable lasting environmental change.

“This Diwali, let us clean our thinking before we clean our homes. Let us build systems where waste is not hidden but managed — where every piece of plastic, metal, or paper is given a chance to be recycled rather than dumped,” Mr Deo said.

The PRF is encouraging Fijians to use the festive season as a time for reflection, renewal, and recommitment to protecting Fiji’s environment.