News - Oct 18, 2021 Majuro Landfill – Update on the State of Emergency

In February 2020, the President of the Marshall Islands issued an Emergency Proclamation of the Majuro dumpsite.  This dumpsite has long exceeded its design capacity and waste is pushed up to 17m high against a seawall.

In response to this issue, the RMI Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Majuro Atoll Waste Company (MAWC) have been coordinating a variety of donor activities, combining short-term “fixes” and long-term strategic responses.

Activities recently implemented include endorsement of a 10-year Solid Waste Management Plan through J-PRISM II, construction of a new temporary dumpsite with JICA, completed an investigation with ADB into feasibility for a waste-to-energy facility, and assessing options for enhanced recycling and composting.

The EPA and MAWC have selected to utilise PacWastePlus investment in an organics and paper/cardboard diversion project.  These waste streams makeup 40% of waste received at the dumpsite and so their diversion will almost double the remaining life of the existing and temporary dumpsites, providing more time to make strategic long-term decisions about future waste management, and convert these so-called waste items into compost, an important commodity on atoll nations.