PROJECTS Abroad Shark Conservation Project has now started a plastic bottle recycling project with a local village as a part of our newly established mangrove reforestation project.
Less than two months after presenting the idea in Galoa Village, we have collected more than 30,000 plastic bottles from the village. An amazing start!
Our goal with this project is to minimise oceanic plastic pollution. As volunteers we were all surprised to see the substantial amount of garbage on beaches, mangrove forests and oceans in Fiji. We then collectively started brainstorming about possible solutions.
We realise that a crucial aspect of this solution is the involvement of the local villages and communities in collecting the plastic bottles from the beaches and mangrove forests. We then came up with this brilliant idea of Projects Abroad paying three cents per plastic bottle, which means that with 100 plastic bottles collected we will remunerate them $F3. This means that with more than 30,000 plastic bottles collected $F900 have already been earned by the villagers. More importantly, the ocean and its marine life have been spared from 30,000 plastic bottles!
Despite being mostly consumed as single use items such as cups, food wrappings and bottles, plastic is a material designed to last forever.
Every year, 250 million tons of plastic are produced globally, and if we lose track of just 10 per cent of that, the amount of plastic in the oceans will double in just four years.
Right now there is an estimated 100 million tons of garbage in the world’s oceans.
As part of our Mangrove Reforestation Project, we are reusing plastic bottles as pots for the propagules (mangrove seedlings). We collect the latter in Galoa, bring them back to our nursery where we grow them until they have strong roots and a few leaves. Then we take the grown plant back and replant them where they will be most beneficial to the local community. The reused plastic bottles are now helping the environment instead of harming it.
It is important to understand the importance of sustainable waste solutions.
Plastic debris is petroleum in solid form. For instance, it takes 450 years for a plastic bottle to decompose. When it does, it breaks down into small particles of oil droplets and will contaminate the water. If we do not change our behaviour in time, we will have to include plastic as a fundamental constituent of ocean water. How scary is that?
Plastic debris is a real danger to ocean environment. Sea turtles are getting stuck in six pack holder rings.
Fish and sea birds mistake small plastic pieces for food. Those fish will either die from lack of nutrition or be caught by fishermen. So take a good look at your next seafood dish.
It is of critical importance to minimise ocean plastic pollution. We, on the Shark Conservation Project, are amazed by the will and engagement showed by the local communities to be involved in our recycling project. We extend a big vinaka vakalevu to the elders and villagers of Galoa for their massive co-operation in the continued success of this project. It is our hope at Projects Abroad that the success of this recycling project will encourage more local business and communities to partner with us in this noble task.
Projects Abroad is also planning new and exciting recycling projects in Pacific Harbour to improve sustainable waste management in the local community.
With your help, we will be able to make an amazing impact on Fiji’s environment.
* Iben Christine Grundtvig is a 20-year-old volunteer from Denmark working with Projects Abroad.
