A plan endorsed with a vision to have a clean and healthy Marshall Islands for today and future generation.
A plan which carries the vision of “A clean and healthy Marshall Islands for today and future generations” was recently endorsed by the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI).
The Solid Waste Management Plan for Majuro 2019-2028 was developed by the Majuro Atoll Waste Company (MWAC) in partnership and collaboration with experts from the Japanese Technical Cooperation Project for the Promotion of Regional Initiatives on Solid Waste Management Strategy in Pacific Island Countries (J-PRISM II).
It was recognised that while substantial efforts had been made by various organisations in RMI to address the issue of solid waste, several challenges remain and that there is a need for strategic efforts to be re-directed to focus on the remaining critical issues as well as emerging ones that are currently being faced by the Waste sector in Majuro.
Minister Jiba Kabua, Chairman of the Majuro Atoll Waste Company Board, says, “Solid waste management is a major undertaking. Majuro Atoll is the capital of RMI with an estimated population of 27,797 on a land area of 3.75 square miles. The Majuro Atoll Waste Company averages around 38.5 tons of waste collected per day.”
“Waste disposal continues to be a huge issue for RMI. The visible waste mountain in Majuro has not only become an eyesore but a major hazard. This plan will assist the MAWC in establishing a technically sound and financially sustainable solid waste management system,” he added.
The Solid Waste Management issues targeted under the plan includes proper final disposal, as the current public disposal site has been used as a landfill site for over ten years. The area is limited, and the waste is piled up so high that it is now said to be the highest point in the country. The plan recognises that there is an urgent need to secure a new final disposal site, as it is critical in developing a sustainable Solid Waste Management System.
Another issue targeted under the SWM Plan is waste reduction and recycling, which is essential to reducing waste going into the final disposal site, thereby prolonging the life of the disposal site and reducing long-term costs.
Additional issues targeted under the plan also include the improvement of collection services and the careful consideration of the applicability of new technologies.
The plan covers the ten-year period from 2019 to 2028, with an action plan designed to be implemented for the first half of that period, from 2019 to 2023, after which a review will be conducted to update the plan’s relevance to current needs, as well as to plan the next activities for the remaining period of the plan. The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme’s (SPREP) Waste Management and Pollution Control Programme has been assisting to finalise the national waste management plan in line with the plan.
“J-PRISM II has seen the great effort by the MAWC in collaboration with the Ministry of Works, Infrastructure and Utilities (MWIU), the Majuro Atoll Local Government (MALGOV) and the RMI Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). We would like to continue to encourage their activities through our assistance,” a statement from the J-PRISM II experts said.
The Solid Waste Management Plan for Majuro 2019 – 2028 can be accessed at this link. https://www.sprep.org/sites/default/files/documents/publications/RMI-Solid-Waste-Management-Majuro-2019-2023.pdf
