Browse our full library of in-depth resources and publications

Cook Islands National Waste Audit Analysis Report

This Waste data collation, analysis and reporting for the Cook Islands National Waste Audit Analysis Report was guided by the overarching Regional Waste Data Collection, Monitoring, and Reporting (DCMR) Framework for the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICT).

Mid-Term Evaluation PacWaste Plus Programme – Cook Islands Project Evaluation Brief

The Pacific – European Union Waste Management (PacWaste Plus) Programme has completed an external Mid-Term Evaluation. The evaluators from NIRAS International Consulting have produced a suite of products highlighting the Mid-Term Evaluation findings. This country brief highlights the mid-term review findings for the Cook Islands PacWaste Plus project.

Benefits of a Sustainable Financing System for Waste Management

Sustainable Financing systems, such as the Cook Islands Advanced Recovery and Disposal Fee, are legislative instruments designed to create a way to sustainably fund waste management and recycling. These systems are used successfully around the world to encourage the recovery of end-of-life products and to ensure governments have access to enough funds to divert recoverable items from landfills and into reuse or recycling. Five schemes are currently in operation in the Pacific, with many other countries actively designing systems for implementation.

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

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

Stocktake of Existing and Pipeline Waste Legislation – Cook Islands

This report contains the University of Melbourne (UoM) team’s findings relating to a stocktake of the existing legislative environment for waste management in the participating countries, focusing on the PacWastePlus priority waste streams of healthcare waste, asbestos, e-waste, plastic waste, recyclables, organics, disaster waste, bulky waste and wastewater, and including implementing legislation for the following multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs): Waigani, Basel, Stockholm, Rotterdam, and Minamata. It also includes a stocktake of pipeline legislative initiatives in the participating countries, including an assessment of their impact and approximate timeframe for development. This report provides details on a stocktake of existing and pipeline Waste Legislations in the Cook Islands.

File Size: 2MB, 16 pages PDF document

Assessment of Legislative Frameworks Governing Waste Management in the Cook Islands

These assessments have been prepared by SPREP EU-funded PacWastePlus programme, drawing upon reporting developed by the University of Melbourne (UoM) on behalf of PacWastePlus for that programme’s Waste Legislative Review project. The UoM team reviewed legislation relevant to waste management in 14 Pacific region countries and Timor-Leste. Separate assessments are provided for each of the PacWastePlus participating countries. This report provides a detailed view of the legislative environment governing waste management currently in operation in the Cook Islands.

File Size: 4.0MB, 58 pages PDF document