Josefa Sigavolavola 
[Photo: FILE]
Fiji’s recycling sector would soon play a bigger role in the country’s waste management future, with private sector companies such as the South Pacific Waste Recyclers playing a critical role in Fiji’s waste management.
Speaking at the company’s 15th anniversary celebration, the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Lynda Tabuya, said businesses like the SPWR will be central to expanding recycling opportunities and building new markets for recyclable materials.
“Your role will become even more important as Fiji expands recycling opportunities, strengthens Extended Producer Responsibility schemes, and creates new markets for recyclable materials.”
The Minister noted that waste is no longer just an environmental issue but also an economic, public health, and climate challenge.
She stressed that Fiji’s new National Waste Management and Pollution Control Strategy 2026–2035 provides a roadmap for tackling plastics, e-waste, hazardous waste, and other streams, but its success depends on partnerships.
For the past fifteen years, South Pacific Waste Recyclers has diverted valuable materials from landfills, reduced pollution, and created jobs, demonstrating that waste can be transformed into a resource.
“You have demonstrated that what many consider waste can become a valuable resource.”
Minister Tabuya believes that with stronger collaboration between government, communities, and the private sector, Fiji can move closer to a circular economy, where materials remain in circulation through reuse, repair, and recycling.
