The government has assured Samoa's Recycling & Waste Management Association (SRWMA) that a new recycling fee for waste management will soon become law.
Prime Minister Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi, who is also patron of SRWMA, was not aware that the association is lobbying for a levy of this kind until yesterday.
Tuilaepa was informed of the association’s proposal during one of the Side Events to the Mid-Term Review of the Samoa Pathway meeting taking place at the TATTE Convention Center this week.
In his key note address to launch the associations 2018-2013 Strategic Plan, Tuilaepa if he had known that the association wanted a recycling fee or levy six months ago, it would have been law by today.
“I will instruct both the Attorney General and the lawyer from Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to draft legislation to this effect which will be tabled in the next Parliament session. These are valuable ideas and we will put them into practice as part of our contribution against climate change.”
The SRWMA was launched in March 2018.
It has made history as the first association of its kind in the region and uniquely bringing together businesses and organisations with different interests and backgrounds but with the common goal to provide solutions not problems to Samoa’s waste management.
Tuilaepa challenged the association to come up with practical solutions to assist government in the management of generated wastes.
On Friday, the association will be engaged in a Donors Dialogue for further presentation and clarifications of their proposed waste initiatives in the future for potential partnership and collaboration.
Association members include B.E.S.T., Hyundai & Ford Service Centre, Senese Inclusive Education, Soil Health Pacific, One Scrap, Pacific Recycle, Metal Man, Vailima Breweries, Waste Management Co., and Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Samoa, partnered with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Samoa's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
Photo supplied.