Promoting Recycling and Waste Management

Introduction 

Improper waste management is a global issue and has negative effects on the environment. Due to a lack of space to store their waste and a lack of education many communities around the world still burn or bury their trash which has a huge negative impact on our planet. This is down to a lack of support or viable effective options for waste management which is what this project aims to change.

Report 

This project aims to provide guidelines and resources to assist in the setup of recycle centres in rural and hard to reach communities across the globe.

Future plans include:

Funding for biogas to power a school and manage school and household waste

We have sent the final payment to our Fiji community to fund the collection of the recycling from 2 Islands to take to the main Island. We are now handing this project over to GVI Fiji and the local community team.

Thank you for your support

Introduction 

Due to a lack of education and infrastructure to properly dispose of or safely store their trash, many communities around the world are still relying on old practises of burning their trash, which is a large contributor to climate change through the emission of greenhouse gases. Another issue that many areas are facing is the fact that they cannot transport their trash to a suitable area or landfill which in turn pushes people to use the quickest and easiest solution

Report 

This project aims to improve waste management practices in our project locations all over the world. By helping to fund the transportation of waste from hard-to-reach areas to efficient disposal areas as well as implementing recycling stations in communities, to provide people with the opportunity to recycle and reuse some of their waste. By implementing proper waste management practices, we can combat climate change and directly improve communities and livelihoods. A donation of $100 will supply the fuel to transport waste.

Thank you for your support

Introduction 

Sustainable waste management is an identified area of need on Moturiki, therefore our next project will focus on awareness raising workshops, training and the construction of two recycling points that will enable the villages of Moturiki to rid their community of waste in an environmentally responsible fashion

Report 

Currently, there are no recycling points on Moturiki; with your help, we can build one! Last year, our Caqalai team collected over 1000kg of rubbish between the ten villages of Moturiki. Due to its proximity to the sea, Moturiki is directly affected by the overflow of waste that floods into the ocean, and having access to responsible waste disposal will be the key to managing the abundance of waste found on their shores.

Our intent is to build and help to manage two recycling points on Moturiki, with the goal of reducing the amount of waste making its way into the ocean and encouraging sustainable waste management for future generations. Help us in achieving our fundraising goal and contribute to the construction of the first two recycling points on Moturiki.

Thank you for your support

Dear Supporters,

Our work in Fiji is far from complete but with you by our side we have done some amazing work! We started work on two Islands, Dawasamu and Caquali in Fiji and as we progress we are looking to extend our work to other neighbouring Islands. 

Over the past few years we have successfully supported the waste management programs that allow waste to be removed from Islands to the mainland for disposal of properly rather than burning. We have also built large recycling banks within communities and run multiple workshops to introduce recycling and the importance of it for our planet. 

With your support and donations we have seen the multiple recycling centres we built becoming popular in use and the local waste management teams keen to work with us. Did you know that a donation of yours for $150 funds 4 recycling bins to be built in a community, it’s such a great impact you are making. 

This project has become bigger than we ever imagined and we are now with you by our side committing to expand this project across more islands across Fiji and therefore we will be merging our Dawasmau recycling project with this one. This will be the final report for this project but we hope you will continue to follow us and support us on the other project page. The project is exactly the same and our mission has not changed we are simply taking it from two Islands to expand across lots more Islands across Fiji

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the support as we would not have been able to help so many communities to date with you and your donations! You are taking the action to change our future for good and for this we thank you. Also don’t forget Bonus Day is coming up so any donation of $100 or more will attract some sort of match donation from GlobalGiving so set yourself a reminder and double your impact this July 15th! 

With Gratitude,

Caqalai Recycling

Dear Supporters,

On our base here in Caqalai many of our daily activities are focused around the reduction of plastic pollution and waste around our island and our neighbouring island of Moturiki. We lessen our pollution impacts by completing weekly dives against debris, snorkels against debris, and beach cleans.

Between January and March 2020, we have completed several dives and snorkels against debris and collected a variety of trash on those dives weighing 29.7 Kilograms. These dives are completed twice a week; they consist of a 3-5-person team of divers that work together to spot different forms of debris on the reef. Through these dives, we hope to make a substantial impact on the cleanliness of our surrounding reef. We have also collected 35.4 kilograms of rubbish on 16 beach cleans. The beach cleans give us an idea of forms of waste that predominantly end up in the ocean and not in the landfill. The beach cleans give us an idea of forms of waste that predominantly end up in the ocean and not in the landfill. Using the Ocean Conservancy mobile app, we provide data on our collections to a global database on trash collection. We hope that by completing weekly beach cleans we can lessen the amount of rubbish that ends up on our reefs and in the sea creatures and become more informed about future waste management solutions.

One of our goals is to implement a recycling programme on the island of  Moturiki, there are many challenges to overcome mainly the removal of the waste to the mainland, while we are currently working on this we have encouraged local communities to do regular beach cleans which we assist with and ensure that the waste that can be recycled is taken to the mainland and joins the waste from Dawasamu and Bureiwai communities who so far over the last 5 years have recycled over 15 tons of recyclable waste. Another area the island is focusing on is becoming a no plastic island encouraging communities to not purchase items in plastic bottles, reusing shops cardboard boxes to pack their shopping in instead of plastic bags. There several organisations based in Fiji that are currently working together to form a committee to help make Moturiki become a plastic-free island. These actions will be steps towards managing the abundance of waste found on their shores. 

As a team our goals follow the guidelines of the United Nations Development Programme and Sustainable Development goals. This quarter we have heavily focused on Goal #12: Responsible consumption and production. This goal aims to substantially reduce waste generation and production by the year 2030. We can do this by recycling and reusing or repurposing our waste, beach cleans, dives against debris, and assisting the communities of Moturiki in educating about the importance of a successful waste management programme.

In summary, we hope that our continuous work in responsible waste management has a ripple effect on the surrounding communities. Although we are such a small island, we can make a difference! Through weekly beach cleans, and dives against debris we can lessen the amount of waste that spreads to the rest of the ocean from our corner of the earth. We can also increase awareness of the world's waste problem by continuing to do waste management workshops in our neighbouring islands and communities. 

Thank you again to all of our continuous supporters, donors, and fundraisers! We could not do the work that we do without you. Vinaka Vaka Levu from the team here at Caqalai!

With Gratitude,

Fiji Caqalai Recycling

Links:

• Our Impact During COVID-19