Country Project
Cook Islands
SUSTAINABLE FINANCING FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT (ADVANCE RECOVERY FEE AND DEPOSIT)
SUSTAINABLE FINANCING FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT (ADVANCE RECOVERY FEE AND DEPOSIT)
Cook Islands rely primarily on the disposal of waste to landfills, but the amount of waste received is exceeding the capacity of landfills and to continue to dispose of waste to landfill has significant costs, both environmental and financial. The focus of the National Environmental Service and Infrastructure Cook Islands is on reducing solid waste to landfill, and they are focussing their PacWastePlus investment to support the implementation of an effective Sustainable Financing system for recoverable and recyclable items.
Project Description
Current situation
Items are imported into the Cook Islands but there are limited viable options for their end-of-life management and/or export. As such, most items imported are disposed of at landfills or stockpiled on vacant land.
What is the Cook Islands Project About?
The Cook Islands seek to implement a Sustainable Financing system (known as the Advance Disposal Fee) to fund the collection and recycling of specific recoverable items, diverting them from landfills by providing an incentive for consumers to return these goods so they do not become a waste issue managed on island. Project activities include:
- legislation to provide a long-term ability for the Cook Islands to collect and process targeted recyclable, bulky and electronic items
- facilities to enable the collection and processing of ARFD recyclable items from all islands in the Cook Islands
- awareness programme designed to raise awareness of the ARFD and change household and community waste practices
Future situation
Cook Islands has been working towards the design and implementation of this sustainable financing system for many years and are very happy to utilise the PacWastePlus project to partially fund the system design and implementation.
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Project resources
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Factsheet
Asbestos Management Brief: COOK ISLANDS
The PacWastePlus Regional Asbestos Project will support countries in executing solutions, both legislative and policy-driven, to prevent exposure to asbestos fibre, and thereby reduce asbestos-related diseases. This document provides guidance for Cook Islands to progress work on the development and implementation of a National ACM ban with this resource providing background information, identifying policy and legislative options available.
Factsheet
Cooks Island Project Profile – Implementing Sustainable Financing for Waste Management (Advance Recovery Fee and Deposit
Items are imported into the Cook Islands in growing numbers, but there are currently limited viable options for their end-of-life management and/or export. As such, most items imported are disposed of at landfills or stockpiled on vacant land. The priority for the Cook Islands is to reduce waste to landfill, and Infrastructure Cook Islands seeks to focus their PacWastePlus investment to support the implementation of an effective Sustainable Financing system (known as the Advance Recovery Deposit and Fee) to enable long-term, self-financing collection, and recovery of recyclable items. The Advance Recovery Fee and Deposit (ARFD) is a mechanism to • provide an incentive for consumers to return recoverable items to a collection depot, and • fund the collection and recycling of these item
Factsheet
PacWastePlus Project Snapshot – Cook Islands
Waste management is a challenge for the Cook Islands, primarily due to the geographic dispersal of the population. Currently, the existing system for rubbish collection and recycling is limited to the islands of Rarotonga and Aitutaki, both have lined landfills and collect recyclables for processing and export. There are limited rubbish collection and very few recycling services in the outer islands. Illegal dumping and burning of household waste and inappropriate disposal of hazardous waste are significant issues in the outer islands. File Size: 2.85MB, 5 pages PDF document
Frequently Asked Questions
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• By 2022, have a legislative environment in the Cook Islands that provides for the implementation and long-term operation of the Advance Recovery Fee
• By 2023, have an Advance Recovery Fee system in operation in the Cook Islands, including the facilities and equipment required to operate collection points on Rarotonga and in the Pa Enua
• By 2023, have households and communities in Rarotonga and in the Pa Enua effectively participating in the Advance Disposal Fee
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• Changed global consumption patterns; to a disposable society
• Limited ability to manage waste in a sustainable way
• Reliance on landfill and island dumps
• Landfill nearing capacity
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• ARFD system established in legislation providing a financially sustainable recycling industry
• 90%* capture rate of ARF items, resulting in 90% reduction of ARF items disposed at dumps/landfill
• All Cook Islanders actively engaged in recyclables management generating income through the redemption of products