Recycling fee or levy for waste in the works

Prime Minister Tuilaepa (middle) flanked by members and supporters of the Samoa Recycling & Waste Management Association (SRWMA).

(GOVT. PRESS SECRETARIAT); A new recycling fee or levy will soon become law, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi has assured the Samoa’s Recycling & Waste Management Association (SRWMA).

As patron of the SRWA, Tuilaepa was not aware that the association is lobbying for a levy of this kind until yesterday during one of the Side Events to the Mid-Term Review of the Samoa Pathway meeting taking place at the TATTE Convention Center this week.

Said the Patron in his key note address to launch the associations 2018-2013 Strategic Plan;

“If I had known that you wanted a recycling fee or levy six months ago, it would have been law by today.

“I will instruct both the Attorney General and the lawyer from Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to draft legislation to this effect which will be tabled in the next Parliament session.

“These are valuable ideas and we will put them into practise as part of our contribution against climate change.”

 

Launched in March 2018, the SRWMA made history as the first association of its kind in the region and uniquely bringing together businesses and organisations with different interests and backgrounds but with the common goal to provide solutions not problems to Samoa’s waste management.

And as patron, Tuilaepa had challenged the association to come up with practical solutions to assist government in the management of generated wastes.

This Friday, the association will be engaged in a Donors Dialogue for further presentation and clarifications of their proposed waste initiatives in the future for potential partnership and collaboration.

Association members include B.E.S.T., Hyundai & Ford Service Centre, Senese Inclusive Education, Soil Health Pacific, One Scrap, Pacific Recycle, Metal Man, Vailima Breweries, Waste Management Co., and Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Samoa, partnered with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Samoa’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.