Barriers to effective solid waste in Pacific Island countries

Solid waste management (SWM) in Pacific Island Countries (PICs) poses a challenge to communities, organisations and governments. Pacific islands are often small with limited land area, and have low population densities with the population spread widely across a large number of islands. Increasing globalisation and consumerism within PICs is also leading to increased amounts of solid waste, in particular plastics and packaging that many countries are not equipped to appropriately deal with. Data was collected from three PICs from the community, solid waste service providers and national governments in order to determine social, organisational and governmental barriers to effective solid waste management. Analysis of the collected data demonstrated that: ▪ SWM a key issue across all countries surveyed, though to varying extents ▪ Awareness, access and affordability identified as primary barriers ▪ Community engagement is a crucial aspect of long term success of SWM scheme