News - Nov 8, 2024 Extended Producer Responsibility one step closer in Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is one step closer to implementing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) following the awarding of a tender to Searious Business, to work with the National EPR Working Group to design the EPR system for the nation.

Ms. Debra Kereseka, Deputy Director , Department of Environment Conservation said: “The development of national legislation for Extended Producer Responsibility is a big step forward for the Solomon Islands, and will go a long way to reducing the amount of litter we experience in our country.

“Along with the National Legislation, we will develop a Regulation for the development of an EPR System for beverage containers initially, ensuring there is incentives available for residents and visitors to return their containers to a redemption location to receive a payment, and we are exploring with some of our development partners, the potential to develop other Regulations that implement similar schemes for item such as e-waste”.

Solomon Islands joins, Cook Islands, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, and Vanuatu as Pacific Island countries actively developing Expended Producer Responsibility laws, and will soon join Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, and Tuvalu who already have implemented similar schemes.

Mr. Bradley Nolan, PacWastePlus Programme Manager, said: “This work and the feasibility studies completed in Papua New Guinea and Tonga means the Pacific is now poised to be the first region in the world implementing EPR schemes”

“EPR is an important tool in countries tool boxes for managing waste – especially complex waste like plastic items and e-waste that typically cannot be processed in the Pacific.

“These items cost money to collect and transport out of the region, and the EPR schemes provide the legal vehicle to require importers and manufacturers to assist consumers and national governments to fund the capture and processing of these items, to ensure the Pacific Environment is protected from pollution.”

PacWastePlus has developed a suite of resources to assist national governments to design and implement EPR schemes which can be downloaded from the programme website at www.pacwasteplus.org