26 May 2025, Apia - The journey towards a Cleaner Pacific has taken another significant step with the official opening of the inaugural Circularity, Innovation, Recovery, Culture, Learning, and Environment (CIRCLE) Expo 2025 in Samoa.
Held at Taumeasina Island Resort from 26 to 30 May 2025, more than 120 delegates from the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI), Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga and Tuvalu are taking part.
They were extended a warm Samoan welcome during an ava ceremony, prior to the official opening on Monday night. Samoa’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Hon. Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster, welcomed all the delegates to Samoa.
“Waste has been a problem and a major environmental concern for Pacific countries for the past fourty years,” said Hon. Toeolesulusulu.
“It is good to see so many projects coordinated through SPREP to try and address this waste problem in the region. This Expo is one way of showcasing different approaches by countries, projects and even the private sector to reduce, reuse and recycle the different types of waste.”
The CIRCLE Expo is organised and facilitated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). It is a multidisciplinary event to address issue of recyclable materials, organic materials, asbestos management, healthcare waste management, e-waste management, used oil management, bulky waste, and Disaster Waste.
The 2025 CIRCLE EXPO also launches a biennial event held alternately with the Clean Pacific Roundtable (CPRT), ensuring there is an annual opportunity for countries, industry, civil society, and tertiary institutions; to come together, discuss and explore issues of waste and pollution management in the Pacific.
SPREP’s Acting Director General, Ms Easter Chu Shing, said the Expo could not have come at a better time for the Pacific region, as several core SPREP-donor funded projects are coming to an end. These include the PacPlan Project, which addresses oil and chemical spill response, PAWES project, investigating and piloting waste-to-energy projects and the PacWastePlus Programme, the major sponsor of the Expo.
“These projects and programmes have assisted the development of legislative strengthening throughout the region, improved data capture and assisted in decision making,” Acting Director Chu Shing said.
“They have supported detailed on-ground activity directly diverting material from the waste stream, and cleaning up contaminated lands and waters, and supported behaviour change in communities across the Pacific and Timor-Leste.”
On the first day of the Expo, delegates delved into the progress made in Fiji, FSM, PNG, RMI, and Solomon Islands on the design and implementation of organic waste management systems, as well as Cook Islands, Niue, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu on the design of sustainable financing systems for waste.
Site visits exploring compostable diapers, waste-to-energy, coastal monitoring and the Tafa’igata Landfill run by Samoa’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) completed an action-packed day one of the Expo.
“Let us use this time to learn from each other on what has worked, and what hasn’t, let us identify where exactly we want the Pacific to be and build an implementable strategy to get us there,” added Ms Chu Shing.
The CIRCLE Expo is for stakeholders to showcase their actions and successes to build capacity throughout the region, and drive innovation and shared action to address waste management and pollution control.
It precedes the closure of the PacWastePlus Programme, and stage 1 of the PAWES Project, and the current Phase of PacPlan, but will also bring to life the next iteration of the CleanerPacific Waste Management and Pollution Strategy.
Head of Unit for the European Union Delegation to the Pacific, Mr. Maurizio Cian, said the Expo marks an important milestone, highlighting innovative approaches to waste management, resource efficiency, and environmental protection.
“I would like to particularly acknowledge the achievements of the PacWaste PlusProgramme, which is concluding this year after years of dedicated work across Pacific Island countries,” he said.
“This programme has been instrumental in improving waste and pollution management in our region, helping to protect marine and terrestrial ecosystems.”
The opening ceremony started with a prayer delivered by Father Mikaele Mataafa, and featured a cultural performance from Faatoia EFKS Youth.
The Circularity, Innovation, Recovery, Culture, Learning, and Environment EXPO 2025 also known as the CIRCLE EXPO 2025 is held in Apia, Samoa from 26 to 30 May.
It will showcase activities and outcomes from across our Pacific Islands achieved through the support of the Pacific – European Union (EU) PacWastePlus Programme, Pacific Ocean Litter Project (POLP), Sustainable Waste Actions in the Pacific (SWAP) project, GEF ISLANDS Project and JPRISM III.
The CIRCLE EXPO 2025 is attended by the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga and Tuvalu. It is funded by the Pacific – European Union (EU) Waste Management Programme, PacWastePlus, POLP, the Programme for Capacity Building related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements in African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries (ACP MEA Phase 3), and SWAP.
For further information please contact: bradleyn@sprep.org
