Eight additional trash booms are scheduled for installation across priority waterways by early next month.
The expanded rollout targets high-risk litter pathways, in particular urban creeks, rivers and drainage systems that discharge directly into coastal waters.
In a statement yesterday announcing the strengthening of its national response to marine litter, the Government said the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change had formalised collaboration with Trash Boom Pacific through a memorandum of understanding, enabling technical support, site assessments and operational guidance for new installations.
“The program is being implemented alongside litter hotspot mapping, feasibility studies and environmental impact considerations, ensuring each site is carefully selected and suited to local hydrological and environmental conditions,” the Government stated.
“Additional hotspots locations have already been identified for 2026 as part of a phased and evidence-based expansion plan.”
Trash booms function as first-line interception infrastructure trapping floating wastes, and captured materials are removed and directed toward appropriate disposal and recycling pathways
This phase builds on the early success of trash booms installed at Nabukalou Creek in Suva and the bailey bridge near Laucala Beach; and lessons from those sites were now being applied to improve placement, maintenance and integration with broader waste management systems.
Late last month, a partnership between Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Fiji (CCEP Fiji), Coca-Cola ASEAN South Pacific and TrashBoom Pacific led to the installation of a trash boom barrier to trap litter polluting Suva’s Samabula River.
Coca-Cola in Fiji is funding the fabrication, installation and ongoing maintenance of the barrier, while TrashBoom Pacific manages day-to-day operations, safe waste collection, and monitoring.
This project complements CCEP Fiji’s Mission Pacific program that has recovered millions of plastic bottles and cans for recycling since 1999 and reinforces the company’s broader commitment to the collection of its packaging.
The Government said community engagement remained a key component of the program.
It stated the expanded trash boom program also complemented the wider work of the ministry under Fiji’s national waste management, marine protection and pollution control frameworks.
