7 September 2021, Apia, SAMOA: We are very excited to announce a dedicated website for the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) implemented and European Union funded, PacWastePlus programme. The PacWastePlus website can now be accessed from https://pacwasteplus.org/
After six months of hard work and dedication, the programme team are delighted to officially announce the website going live from September 7, 2021. The new programme website will provide visitors an easier way to learn more about the programme and how it is assisting participating countries by building capacity & enhancing sustainability into waste management practices.
“I am excited to see that the PacWastePlus programme is utilising innovative tools and that we now have a dedicated programme website for meaningful engagement that provides the necessary guidance and resources to all participating PacWastePlus countries”, said the SPREP Director General, Mr Kosi Latu.
The Director General thanked the European Union for their support to build on previous projects and other development partner initiatives.
“The PacWastePlus programme is a timely opportunity for countries to leverage work from regional projects and the Cleaner Pacific Roundtable and this helps enhance national actions to implement innovative and new effective waste management interventions,” added Mr Latu.
Mr Latu stated that the dedicated and interactive PacWastePlus website will assist countries share their experiences and best practices.
“We are grateful for the support and cooperation received from our members as we work together through our PacWastePlus programme and are identifying and implementing effective waste management solutions to make our region and our planet more sustainable, safe, and inclusive,” further commented the SPREP Director General.
The “European Green Deal” is the top priority of the European Union. It is often reduced to climate change, with the commitment to “Zero Net Emissions” or “Carbon Neutrality” by 2050. However, the “European Green Deal” also reaffirms the commitment from the European Union to the development of a “Circular Economy”, with the adoption in 2020 of a new action plan to that effect. In the Pacific, this ambition translates into PacWastePlus.
“The PacWastePlus programme webpage is a great source of information for all the participating countries and other stakeholders interested in the work of this programme or, more in general, the topic of sustainable waste management in the Pacific and it provides a platform for a meaningful engagement at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has restricted our personal contacts”, said the His Excellency Sujiro Seam, Ambassador of the European Union for the Pacific.
The Ambassador further added that while sustainable waste management is a responsibility of each individual country in the Pacific, it cannot be tackled at the country-level in isolation and to address its various aspects, sustainable waste management needs to be addressed through cooperation with other countries in the Pacific region.
“The PacWastePlus Programme addresses sustainable waste management at both national and regional levels, and it provides a platform where Pacific countries can share their experiences and best practices to find common solutions and replicate successful initiatives”, further added the Ambassador.
His Excellency Sujiro Seam added that the PacWastePlus programme supports the Pacific countries in developing the necessary policy mechanisms and actions in line with the “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle principles, which will contribute to a more circular economy in the Pacific.
Through this programme, the countries are supported in developing financially sustainable solutions in waste management, through mechanisms such as container deposit schemes, advance disposal fees, as well as environmental taxes and levies.
“We wanted to make a website that would be interactive, user-friendly and have available resources and information content that would be meaningful and valuable to our participating programme countries”, said Mr Bradley Nolan, Programme Manager for PacWastePlus.
He further added that as a regional programme, it’s vital for to make information regarding the programme, for both country and regional projects and the many resources being developed by the programme easily accessible for participating programme countries.
“We endeavor to provide our country members with the most accurate, up-to-date information and share our knowledge, technical expertise and more so the necessary guidance to assist our members for project implementation at the national and regional level”, further added Mr Nolan.
The programme team have committed to provide regular updates to the website and introduce new interactive features such as animations and videos over the coming months to make the website user experience more enjoyable.
Message from Mr Kosi Latu, SPREP Director General:
https://pacwasteplus.org/governance-message-one/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CA6cBwzWdE
Message from His Excellency Sujiro Seam, Ambassador of the European Union for the Pacific:
https://pacwasteplus.org/governance-message-two/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31Ok2ozAZP8
The Pacific-EU Waste Management Programme (PacWastePlus) is a EUR 16.5 million, 72-month project funded by the European Union and implemented by Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and will address both the cost effective and sustainable management of waste and pollution as well as broader impacts including human health and wellbeing, climate change, disaster management, biodiversity conservation and resource recovery.
Priority waste streams include hazardous wastes (specifically asbestos, E-waste and healthcare waste), solid wastes (specifically recyclables, organic waste, disaster waste and bulky waste) and related aspects of wastewater.