Sostenus Wilherm
The government is preparing tougher measures against littering, illegal dumping and pollution, however, enforcement of the new penalties will only begin once new waste management regulations are approved, environment, forestry and tourism minister Indileni Daniel has told parliament.
Daniel was responding to questions from Independent Patriots for Change shadow minister of environment, forestry and tourism Rodrick Likando on the government’s plans to strengthen measures against poor waste management and environmental pollution.
She said the ministry was developing specific waste management regulations under the Environmental Management Act of 2007, which are expected to strengthen the country’s legal framework for dealing with waste.
“The new regulations being developed will provide a more comprehensive framework for waste management by strengthening provisions relating to littering, illegal dumping, and waste collection, transportation, recycling, treatment, and disposal, while also introducing more effective punitive measures, compliance, and enforcement of these measures,” Daniel said.
According to the minister, the line ministry has completed stakeholder consultations on the first draft of the regulations.
The consultations involved government institutions, regional councils, local authorities, private sector players, waste management practitioners, civil society organisations and development partners.
Daniel said the consultations were intended to ensure that the regulations were practical, inclusive and capable of being implemented across the country.
The planned regulations are also expected to support the implementation of the Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6), which identifies circular economy and waste management as national development priorities.
Daniel said the approach would promote sustainable production and consumption, resource efficiency, waste minimisation, recycling and growth of the green economy.
However, the minister did not give a specific date for when the new penalties would take effect.
She said implementation of the punitive compliance and enforcement measures would begin once the regulations had been approved and gazetted.
“The implementation of the punitive compliance and enforcement measures will commence as soon as the regulations are approved and gazetted,” Daniel said.
She said enforcement would be carried out through cooperation between environmental officers, regional councils, local authorities and other relevant enforcement agencies.
Public awareness campaigns, inspections and compliance monitoring would complement enforcement efforts to ensure the measures are implemented throughout the country.
Daniel also clarified that the government was not planning to establish the “community brigades” referred to in Likando’s questions.
Instead, she said the government was working towards establishing waste buyback centres aimed at increasing community participation in waste management while creating economic opportunities.
“Therefore, I would like to respond to Honorable Member question three to seven, in which he talks about a vision with the following one response regarding the community waste buyback centers,” she said.
The ministry is collaborating with the Environmental Investment Fund (EIF) as part of efforts to support the country’s circular economy initiative under NDP6.
The planned centres are expected to facilitate waste collection, separation, recycling and resource recovery while creating livelihood opportunities for communities.
Daniel said the centres would be established in partnership with regional councils, local authorities and other government entities.
However, the initiative remains at the planning stage, with consultations with stakeholders expected to begin soon.
“We are still in the investigation and planning and finalization,” Daniel said.
She said the government wanted to ensure that suitable sites were identified and that management structures, implementation arrangements and accountability mechanisms were properly developed before the centres became operational.
A key element of the proposal is community ownership.
Daniel said the centres were intended to be managed and operated by communities in the areas where they are established, allowing residents to benefit from the economic opportunities created through waste recovery and recycling.
The ministry plans to start with a limited number of centres before expanding the programme as funding becomes available.
“Based on this waste resource and market, we plan to start small and with few centers, and then grow with time and as finance becomes available,” Daniel said.
The minister added that communities involved in the initiative would receive appropriate training, environmental education, personal protective equipment and operational guidance, subject to available resources.
