Hi there everyone,
I am Roselyn from Vanuatu. I am looking forward to participate in the PacWaste Plus and GEF Islands Study Tour soon in Australia.
In Vanuatu, JICA has initiated a Recycling scheme and is working with the DEPC team to establish in Vanuatu. The scheme is proposed to be a Container Deposit Scheme (CDS)for Recyclable beverage containers. A certain amount of deposit is to be paid by importers importing the selected beverage containers agreed to be part of the scheme. The deposits are to be paid before the beverages are released to the importer into an account which is not part of the government's finance system and is to be managed by a managing agency composed of government, private businesses and other relevant agencies.
The status of this initiative is at the draft drafting instructions for submission to the State Law Office (SLO).

I would very much like to learn
- how the schemes are done in Australia and how we can use the knowledge and apply to our own contexts
- from the experiences of other island countries who have started theirs and identify the differences between Australia's and theirs
- the factors that contribute to determining the deposit for different types of recyclable materials such as uLABs, other types of batteries including for solar, e-waste, refrigerators and air-conditioners, end of life vehicles.
- whether there can be just one or two regulation that can link all recyclable schemes instead of having one for each type /types of material
See you all soon.
See you all soon.

Mauri all. I am excited and looking forward to participate in the PacWaste Plus and GEF ISLANDS study tour to learn more about these systems. Here in Kiribati, we are currently implementing the Container Deposit Scheme for 3 recyclable items namely PET bottles, Aluminium Cans and Lead-Acid Batteries. The system is operated by a private sector under contract with the Government. The contractor collected these recyclable items from the public and paid them from the container deposit funds. This system has been running since 2004. Unfortunately, PET bottles have been stockpiling in the yard since 2017 given the absence of buyers in the global market. Additionally, we have developed the Kiribati Waste Management and Resource Recovery Strategy which sets out the workplan for waste management in 10 years time for Kiribati. The things I am most looking forward to learn are; 1. Adding more recyclable items to our current container deposit scheme, 2. The processes of sustainable financing for waste management and 3. Implementing an effective and efficient waste management and resource recovery practices.

Malo e lelei everyone. My name is Mafile'o Masi and I am excited to participate in the PacWastePlus and GEF ISLANDS Study Tour to learn more about these systems. Here in Tonga we are currently implementing the Plastic Levy Regulation 2013, which allow Waste Authority Ltd (WAL) to collect revenue at the border of empty PET bottles and plastic food containers. However, there is a need to review the regulation to include PET bottles with liquid and other single use plastics as they are becoming more common and a bit more challenging to deal with.

The things I am most looking forward to learn are:

1. Sharing ideas and lesson learnt with other Pacific Island countries that are currently implementing sustainable financing mechanisms for waste management such as Extended Producer Responsibility, Container Deposit Legislation and/or Advance Recovery Fee and Deposit successfully;
2. Support for legislation development, procurement of necessary facility/ equipment and market for export as mentioned by my colleague Ms Lola Tonga from WAL; and
3. Capacity building and community awareness

Looking forward to seeing you all in Australia (if I get my visa on time..lol)

Hi everyone, warm greetings from the Caribbean! I am very excited to participate in the PacWastePlus and GEF ISLANDS Study Tour to learn more about these systems, and to get the opportunity to share experiences with colleagues on the other side of the world. Here in Trinidad and Tobago we are currently planning to implement a deposit-refund system for beverage containers, as the first waste stream for application of this type of management system, given its large share in single-use packaging. To this end, the country is in the process of revising the Beverage Containers Deposit Refund Policy, as well as the National Integrated Solid Waste/Resource Management Policy (which is the overarching policy on waste and resource management in the country and is being underpinned by a Circular Economy approach) and the National Waste Recycling Policy (which seeks to establish a sustainable national recycling programme). Based on the last waste characterisation study conducted it was estimated that about 84% of the waste generated was recyclable but this potential value is lost as these resources are generally landfilled. Currently, there is no mandated nationwide recycling system established in the country, though we do have various initiatives in operation at different scales. Their contribution however, is still relatively small scale in comparison to the quantity of recyclables generated.

This Study Tour is therefore very timely given that Trinidad and Tobago is at this critical juncture, as the learnings can be contextualised and integrated into these national policies and strategies. I am therefore looking forward to the opportunity to network and gain practical insights from the practitioners and more so to witness these various strategies and technologies in operation. I am also hoping to gain more real-world experience of the circular economy in action, as this concept is still very much novel here. With the newfound knowledge and expertise the aim is to contribute towards innovative and sustainable financing solutions to help address the national waste management challenges. Lastly, I hope the cross-cultural learnings will be well-grounded at this tour and continue to flourish as we embark on the GEF ISLANDS Programme and even beyond.

Talofa everyone from the SPREP HQ in Apia!

My name is Hilary, and I am honoured and excited to be one of the team planning our Sustainable Financing Study Tour to Australia! We have an excellent 2-week agenda filled with site visits and talanoa sessions with the scheme experts across Australia. We want to show you the full "ins and outs" of options for scheme design and implementation - literally "ins" in some cases: do you want to see the inside workings of a Reverse Vending Machine? You are in the right place!

First tho, and as per the emails, we do need those administrative tasks underway:
1: Details on your travel insurance and VISA application statushttps://forms.monday.com/forms/770cea996122c07b6f32212f27338e6b?r=use1
2: Your tee-shirt size: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScn3DvtJuiSpRUO3DDOu3FdBI61Gek…

Please complete these two short forms are your earliest, and please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions - we are here to help!

I very much look forward to meeting you all in Canberra next month!

Bula, Talofa, Kia Orana, Mauri, Fakalofa Atu, Kamawir Omo, Mālō e lelei, Elo Hi, Alii, Welkam, Iọkwe, Fakatalofa, Halo, Mogethin, and Welcome (phew…. that was a mouthful) to our exciting, inciteful and meaningful journey together!

I will be that annoying person poking cameras and microphones in your faces, constantly bugging you to take a photo of you (don’t worry we will make you look good)…maybe a few short videos too, and sending you countless questions to understand what knowledge you may have gained from our STUDY Tour but more importantly how you will use your learning and experiences from our journey to help design and implement sustainable solutions when you arrive back home!

No, it is not going to be easy, and we don’t expect overnight solutions designed but that is exactly why this tour is so valuable. It enables us to learn from the “gurus” and to learn and share knowledge with each other so we can do something together and become genuine Champions of making things happen.

Annoyed with me already? Apart from annoying you, I may be of some help to you. I would like to spend some time with you to discuss the importance of having a meaningful and engaging communications plan in the design phase when you are plotting your innovative systems. Far too often we forget that effective communication is the glue we need for impactful education and awareness initiatives and our community mobilisation and advocacy efforts to make sustainable solutions a reality. We have developed a number of resources which I will share here as well.

I am truly excited to be a part of this knowledge expedition with you all. Hmmm…I also need your help!

What do you think will be a cool #hashtag for our journey that we will share here and on our social media channels?

Kia ora koutou (Hello everyone), I am excited to participate in the PacWastePlus and GEF ISLANDS Study Tour to learn more from everyone about their systems and how we can support each other to improve waste and recycling outcomes across the Pacific.
Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, we are currently developing a new national waste strategy and we have recently adopted our first national emissions reduction plan (ERP). The ERP includes a 40% waste methane reduction target by 2035 (i.e. methane from landfills). This is big and means that, amongst other things, nearly all food waste must be diverted from landfill into alternative processing systems (composting and anaerobic digestion) by 2030.
We have also recently completed public consultation on our Transforming Recycling in Aotearoa proposals. The three proposals are:
1. standardizing kerbside recycling nationally – this includes a number of complimentary actions, the most notable being a standardised list of materials collected for recycling across New Zealand (making it easier to do the right thing), and kerbside food waste collections for most NZ households;
2. all businesses to separate their food waste from the landfill bin in order that it may be recycled/composted; and
3. a New Zealand Container Deposit Scheme for all one-way recyclable beverage containers (known as a Container Return Scheme in NZ; kiwi’s consume 2.57 billion single use beverage containers every year – that’s around 7 million per day, and currently, less than half are recycled and too many end up in landfill or as litter).
The things I am most looking forward to include, meeting you all and to share in your experiences; learning about where you are at on your journey, what is working well and what the issues are; and gaining insights about how we all may collectively lift our game - the need to transition to a low emission circular economy globally has never been more urgent.

Hello fellow Community of Practice members!

I am excited to lead the PacWastePlus / GEF ISLANDS Sustainable Financing for Waste Management Study Tour to Australia next month.

We will be meeting with jurisdictional representatives from across Australia and New Zealand, community enterprises, private industry, and centres of excellence. We will also be getting up-close to technologies and infrastructure that supports resource recovery and circular economy.

Please do follow along on this page where we will provide daily updates on tour activities, and our delegates will be sharing their experiences.

We welcome you all to start sharing information about your current Sustainable financing systems, and your Countries plans to introduce or expand such systems.

Peer-to-peer learning on happens when we share - I am so excited to add my experience to yours, and to build effective solutions in your countries.

Hi Everyone ? I am excited to participate in the PacWastePlus and GEF ISLANDS Study Tour to learn more about these Sustainable Financing systems. Here in Tonga, we are currently seeking opportunities and planning to implement systems that is sustainable to resolving waste issues, especially with tacking single used plastic waste and implementing recycling etc. Waste Authority Limited introduced it’s first recycling service in April 2022 to the public. We have incorporated this new service to our normal waste collection network. The public can now sort their plastic bottles and glass bottles from home and WAL collects them and processed with recycling machines (through donor funded projects) at the landfill. While there’s so many other types of waste that can be recycled, our capacity now only allows us to start with the plastic and glass bottles. We’re hoping to get more support to expand recycling to the outer islands and be able to process all recyclable waste locally to create other products and save our landfills. Bulky waste and abandoned vehicles are also a major issue in Tonga. This tour will be an awesome experience to learn more from regulators and experts in Australia on how they’re taking the lead in implementing these sustainable financial systems in waste management. Most importantly to learn how we can implement a system that better suits Tonga. The things I am most looking forward to learn are Container Deposit Scheme, Circular Economy, E-waste and Organics. All these are very relevant to resolving current waste issues in Tonga. I plan to take home what I will learn and experience during this tour and help implement work plans that will contribute to resolving waste management issues in Tonga.

I am Mura Herman and I am excited to participate in the PacWastePlus and GEF ISLANDS Study Tour to learn more about these systems. Here in the Cook Islands we are currently implementing / planning to implement the following PacWaste and GEF ISLANDS projects targeting ARDF and our Outer Island (PA Enua) waste removal of e-waste and hopefully bulky waste in the coming projects.
The things I am most looking forward to learn are how Australia is leading the way around sustainable financing around ADF and how this has been received by the commmunity and how return container scheme is rolled out so its not project reliant. I hope to learn from the site visits and experts from all over the Pacific, being in involved here in Cook Islands on waste I hope to see some practical and innovative systems that we may translate to our shores. Looking forward to everything we will be exposed to and hope to return back with my colleague to empower what we are starting to ensure our Nations goal of zero waste.