Riya Mala 
Permanent Secretary for Climate Change and Environment, Dr. Sivendra Michael, has proposed the introduction of a Circular Deposit Return System for plastic items to strengthen Fiji’s waste management efforts.
However, Dr. Michael says the system must first build up enough funds before it can be effectively implemented.
He suggested that introducing a plastic processing fee could help establish the necessary financial base.
Permanent Secretary for Climate Change and Environment, Dr. Sivendra Michael.
He explained that if the system were launched immediately, everyone collecting plastic would expect payment, but there are currently no funds available to support that.
Dr. Michael highlighted that the Ministry currently processes applications from companies using plastics at no cost, handling up to 20 applications weekly through limited human resources.
“What about the oil? The bottles with the oil, the bottles with the ghee — that’s not recyclable. We need to think about all of these things. So do we send it back to where it’s made, or do we send it back to the manufacturers that make it here for them? Where does it go? And if it cannot be recycled, what is the alternative? So I think the CDRS is something that you should really invest in.”
Dr. Michael says this heavy workload is one of the reasons behind the introduction of a processing fee. He also stressed that government efforts should extend beyond beverage companies and consider all types of beverage packaging products.
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