Waste Management and Pollution Control
The waste that we produce acts very much like a mirror to our lives. And like our lifestyles and populations, the waste issues that we face are constantly evolving and changing.
The benefits of new technology, for example, have brought about the relatively new problem of E-waste disposal. The many opportunities opened up by international shipping have resulted in the challenge of ballast waters from vessels, that contribute to the introduction of invasive alien species. Asbestos, once hailed as a revolutionary and inexpensive building material has now been found to be harmful to human health - leaving many island countries exposed to the high cost of disposing of the hazardous material effectively.
More recently, we have become attuned to the fact that we are surrounded by chemicals - in the home, workplace and in the garden. If these chemicals are not managed and disposed of properly, they can pose a very real threat to the health of ourselves, our children and our environment.
The issue of chemical management, and the Persistent Organic Pollutants (known as POPs), that some toxic chemicals release, have been the topic of new initiatives discussed at a regional level by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and its Pacific island Members.
Dr David Haynes, Director of the Waste Management and Pollution Control Division at SPREP, explains that the new draft Pacific Regional Integrated Waste Management and Pollution Control Strategy for 2016-2025 - known as Cleaner Pacific 2025 - will emphasise the management of chemicals, including POPs:
"As well as shaping regional priorities in the area of waste management and pollution control, Cleaner Pacific 2025 recognises that the waste management landscape is changing and we no longer have a simple solid waste management issue in the Pacific. For this reason, our approach has become more sophisticated. Addressing the critical importance of managing chemicals and POPs is just one of the ways through which we are endeavouring to stay ahead of the problem."
While chemical management is a global issue, island countries of the Pacific face a particular vulnerability to the adverse effect of poor chemical management due to poorly maintained storage facilities and limited resource capacity. These factors are exacerbated by the region's exposure to storm surges and tropical cyclones.
Given the increased likelihood of extreme weather events as a result of climate change, the situation is likely to get worse in the future. Already, there have been near misses.
When Cyclone Heta struck Niue in early 2004, the only thing standing in the way of a potentially catastrophic chemical accident was a modest shipping container. During chemical management training only weeks before the cyclone, old stocks of agricultural chemicals had been stored inside the shipping container in preparation for removal under the final disposal phase of the project. The shipping container was placed in storage in a building which was subsequently destroyed by the cyclone.
The container survived, but Dr Bruce Graham, who is part of a team consulting on a new SPREP programme that focuses on the improved management of chemicals in the Pacific region, says that the Niue example offers a startling warning:
"After Heta struck, the only thing left standing in the vicinity was that shipping container. If those chemicals hadn't been stored securely, they may have leaked through the island's porous topsoil and infiltrated the water supply."
Following this fortunate turn of events, the chemicals were eventually transported to Australia for safe destruction under SPREP's Australian Government-funded POPs in PICs project.
The team for the chemical management training programme is being lead by the Institute of Applied Sciences (IAS) at the University of the South Pacific (USP). Starting this month they will be developing resource materials to support the training of government agency staff, laboratory staff, education sector representatives and customs personnel involved in the use, management and regulation of chemicals. This programme forms part of the Pacific POPs Release Reduction Project, which is coordinated by SPREP and funded through the Global Environment Facility - Pacific Alliance for Sustainability (GEF-PAS).
Ms Lusiana Ralogaivau, SPREP's GEF uPOPs Project Coordinator, believes that this new body of work, combined with the draft Cleaner Pacific 2025 Strategy document and recent commitments from Parties to the Waigani Convention on the trans-boundary movement of hazardous wastes, augurs well for the future of chemical management in the Pacific region:
"When you work in the area of waste management, it can often feel as though you're always one step behind - you're literally cleaning up other people's mess. But in this particular case, with regard to the proper management of POPs and other chemicals, I am very optimistic that we're on the right track to prevent serious problems arising in the future."
The Pacific POPs Release Reduction project is co-funded through the Global Environment Facility - Pacific Alliance for Sustainability (GEF-PAS) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD). It is executed by SPREP, in close cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Cleaner Pacific 2025 has been developed through a partnership between the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in consultation with SPREP Member countries and territories.
For more information about SPREP's work in the improved management of chemicals, please contact Lusiana Ralogaivau on [email protected]
The benefits of new technology, for example, have brought about the relatively new problem of E-waste disposal. The many opportunities opened up by international shipping have resulted in the challenge of ballast waters from vessels, that contribute to the introduction of invasive alien species. Asbestos, once hailed as a revolutionary and inexpensive building material has now been found to be harmful to human health - leaving many island countries exposed to the high cost of disposing of the hazardous material effectively.
More recently, we have become attuned to the fact that we are surrounded by chemicals - in the home, workplace and in the garden. If these chemicals are not managed and disposed of properly, they can pose a very real threat to the health of ourselves, our children and our environment.
The issue of chemical management, and the Persistent Organic Pollutants (known as POPs), that some toxic chemicals release, have been the topic of new initiatives discussed at a regional level by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and its Pacific island Members.
Dr David Haynes, Director of the Waste Management and Pollution Control Division at SPREP, explains that the new draft Pacific Regional Integrated Waste Management and Pollution Control Strategy for 2016-2025 - known as Cleaner Pacific 2025 - will emphasise the management of chemicals, including POPs:
"As well as shaping regional priorities in the area of waste management and pollution control, Cleaner Pacific 2025 recognises that the waste management landscape is changing and we no longer have a simple solid waste management issue in the Pacific. For this reason, our approach has become more sophisticated. Addressing the critical importance of managing chemicals and POPs is just one of the ways through which we are endeavouring to stay ahead of the problem."
Recent developments in the waste management and pollution control sector have highlighted the importance of hazardous chemical management to waste interventions in the Pacific islands region.
Photo: (c) Dr Bruce Graham
Photo: (c) Dr Bruce Graham
While chemical management is a global issue, island countries of the Pacific face a particular vulnerability to the adverse effect of poor chemical management due to poorly maintained storage facilities and limited resource capacity. These factors are exacerbated by the region's exposure to storm surges and tropical cyclones.
Given the increased likelihood of extreme weather events as a result of climate change, the situation is likely to get worse in the future. Already, there have been near misses.
When Cyclone Heta struck Niue in early 2004, the only thing standing in the way of a potentially catastrophic chemical accident was a modest shipping container. During chemical management training only weeks before the cyclone, old stocks of agricultural chemicals had been stored inside the shipping container in preparation for removal under the final disposal phase of the project. The shipping container was placed in storage in a building which was subsequently destroyed by the cyclone.
The container survived, but Dr Bruce Graham, who is part of a team consulting on a new SPREP programme that focuses on the improved management of chemicals in the Pacific region, says that the Niue example offers a startling warning:
"After Heta struck, the only thing left standing in the vicinity was that shipping container. If those chemicals hadn't been stored securely, they may have leaked through the island's porous topsoil and infiltrated the water supply."
Following this fortunate turn of events, the chemicals were eventually transported to Australia for safe destruction under SPREP's Australian Government-funded POPs in PICs project.
When Cyclone Heta struck Niue in early 2004, the only thing standing in the way of a potentially catastrophic chemical accident was this modest shipping container. Photo: (c) Natasha Toeono
The team for the chemical management training programme is being lead by the Institute of Applied Sciences (IAS) at the University of the South Pacific (USP). Starting this month they will be developing resource materials to support the training of government agency staff, laboratory staff, education sector representatives and customs personnel involved in the use, management and regulation of chemicals. This programme forms part of the Pacific POPs Release Reduction Project, which is coordinated by SPREP and funded through the Global Environment Facility - Pacific Alliance for Sustainability (GEF-PAS).
Ms Lusiana Ralogaivau, SPREP's GEF uPOPs Project Coordinator, believes that this new body of work, combined with the draft Cleaner Pacific 2025 Strategy document and recent commitments from Parties to the Waigani Convention on the trans-boundary movement of hazardous wastes, augurs well for the future of chemical management in the Pacific region:
"When you work in the area of waste management, it can often feel as though you're always one step behind - you're literally cleaning up other people's mess. But in this particular case, with regard to the proper management of POPs and other chemicals, I am very optimistic that we're on the right track to prevent serious problems arising in the future."
The Pacific POPs Release Reduction project is co-funded through the Global Environment Facility - Pacific Alliance for Sustainability (GEF-PAS) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD). It is executed by SPREP, in close cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Cleaner Pacific 2025 has been developed through a partnership between the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in consultation with SPREP Member countries and territories.
For more information about SPREP's work in the improved management of chemicals, please contact Lusiana Ralogaivau on [email protected]