Apenisa Waqairadovu 
More than 22,000 plastic bottles and aluminium cans have already been collected in Lautoka under the return-and-earn initiative, with the council paying out about $1,200 dollars to residents.
Minister for Local Government Maciu Nalumisa says the programme is proving effective in reducing illegal dumping and helping councils manage Fiji’s growing waste problem.
Speaking in Lautoka, Nalumisa said people are encouraged to return empty bottles and aluminium cans to their municipal council in exchange for five cents per item.
“So what we have done is to encourage the people at our municipalities to assist the council by returning aluminium cans and also any empty bottles that you have at home. If you return those cans and bottles, the council is going to pay you five cents.”
Nalumisa says the initiative has now been introduced in most councils around the country and is aimed at changing attitudes towards careless and illegal rubbish disposal.
He is urging people to start collecting recyclables at home, in schools, villages, and communities, instead of dumping them illegally or sending them to landfills.
To further tackle illegal dumping, Nalumisa confirmed that the Lautoka City Council will install five portable, solar-powered CCTV cameras at known littering hotspots.
He is also calling on the public to report anyone seen dumping rubbish illegally, so action can be taken.
Nalumisa says managing waste starts at home and everyone has a role to play in keeping Fiji clean.
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