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International Waters Project

Year of Action Against Waste – Special Report - The True Cost of Tonga’s Waste

4/5/2005

In Tonga the poor management of solid waste and liquid waste from humans and animals has become an issue of national importance.

According to a 2002 report outlining Tonga’s “Priority Environmental Concerns” pollution from solid and liquid waste is now the biggest environmental problem facing the country. The report recommended that measures needed to be taken to minimise the impacts of this waste and to protect the freshwater lens under Tongatapu.

The Tonga International Waters Project (IWP) is a collaborative project between the Government of Tonga and the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), designed to try and help improve the management of solid and liquid waste on Tongatapu.

According to Sione Fakaosi, the National Coordinator of the Tonga IWP, the water from the fresh water lens is no longer safe to drink outside the capital city. “Pollution of the lens from waste means that water is no longer safe to drink unless it is boiled,” he says.

The Tonga IWP is taking a two-pronged approach to addressing this problem. The project has been working closely with the pilot community of Nukuhetulu on Tongatapu to try and find cost-effective ways to improve the management of waste at the community level. It is hoped that this will help to provide the Government with real lessons that can be used to improve waste management in other similar rural communities throughout the rest of Tonga.

Like all other rural villages around Tonga, there is no household waste collection and disposal service in the village of Nukuhetulu. Waste generated in the village from shopping or gardening has traditionally been burnt, buried in the backyard, or dumped in the mangroves on the edge of Fanga’uta lagoon just outside the village.

Sioape Tu’iono, Vaini District Officer and resident of Nukuhetulu village, says that traditionally, each household had its own waste pile in the backyard of the house where the family burnt its rubbish on a regular basis.

“When rubbish that couldn’t be burnt like tins, plastics, irons, etc accumulated over time, people would either bury it in the backyard or on their agricultural land, or would just throw it in the mangroves, with little thought about its impact on our environment,” he says.

Sione Fakaosi says many villagers in Nukuhetulu were unaware that dumping waste in the mangroves could threaten the environment.

“Some villagers may have suspected that dumping in the mangroves was damaging the environment but they went ahead and did it anyway,” he says.

The projects’ first activity has been to try to encourage the separation of waste at the household level through composting. Sione says the IWP surveys have shown that over 90 per cent of the waste produced by Nukuhetulu’s households is organic material that could easily be composted and used to grow fruit and vegetables for the community.

He says that promoting composting in villages like Nukuhetulu is important for several reasons.

“The Government’s AusAID funded Solid Waste Management Project is building a modern landfill at Tapuhia to replace the old Tukutonga dump. It will be vital for our communities to make sure that only the inorganic rubbish that can’t be composted or recycled is sent to the new landfill. This will save the country money by extending the life of the landfill and it will ensure that we are not wasting valuable resources that could be helping to put food on our tables,” he says.

The Tonga Community Development Trust has been working together with the IWP to show householders in Nukuhetulu how to produce natural compost, liquid fertiliser and how to save and propogate seedlings for home gardening. The Trust has been promoting composting as an effective alternative to the intensive of use of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals that are polluting the lagoon and water lens.

‘Alafoki Lilo, one of 10 original householders participating in the IWP composting trials under the IWP says the project has provided an opportunity for people to learn how to keep their water and sea clean by reusing our green waste.

“In our garden, we now have a composting box (an open wooden box) with three sections. We throw our organic waste into the first section each day. We turn the waste over and add water to it once a week. After three weeks we move that waste into the second section and start adding fresh organic waste the first section. We do the same thing and, after three more weeks, the heap in the third box has turned into compost and we can use it for gardening,” he says.

Sione says the results of the trial are now paying off for participating householders. “With the seedlings, compost and natural fertiliser, ‘Alafoki and the other householders are now able to enjoy a more healthy diet from their organic produce in their backyard, free from agricultural chemicals and free of charge.”

‘Alafoki Lilo agrees. “The home vegetable gardening was very useful for those of us who participated. First, the vegetables were organic which means they were healthier for us to consume, very tasty and different from those commonly available at the market. Second, the trial encouraged us to get more involved with home gardening and, because of the timing of the trial, our produce became available in the off-season, saving us money as we didn’t have to buy vegetables, ” he says.

‘Alafoki has used the trial to produce spring onions, tomatoes, capsicum and pineapples. “Having our own little garden at our home contributes greatly to our daily diet as well as during the Christmas festive seasons,” he says.

Sione says that composting may provide a way to save money, return nutrients to the soil, contribute to the protection of cultural trees, and protect the environment in the long term. ”The trials are only in their early days but things look promising. The number of households participating in the trial has recently jumped from 10 to 35 so people must be starting to see the personal benefits of getting involved,” he says.

However, Sione cautions that much more work will be required to improve the management of waste in Nukuhetulu, and throughout the rest of Tonga.

“We need better information to help improve our policies and regulations. The IWP is working with legal staff to analyse legislation and management arrangements on Tongatapu to see how to better to manage waste at the national level.

“We’re also assessing the financial cost of waste on Tongatapu and looking at the value of improving waste management on the island so we can raise the profile of waste management and support future investments to ensure that we can truly minimize the impacts of waste on the environment and health of all Tongan communities,” he says.

He says the IWP is now about to begin one of the regions’ first studies into how much money Pacific island citizens could be losing as a result of poor waste management. This economic valuation study is intended to help the Tongan Government understand the economic losses that could be avoided through improved waste management.

Sione says the valuation is intended to help the Government and the Tongan people understand the economic losses due to waste – losses that might be minimised and, in some cases even avoided, through better waste management.

“The valuation should reveal who suffers as a result of waste problems, why and how much it costs them. It will attempt to reveal the cost that waste imposes on households as well as the government. Once we know this, we can get a better feel for how much money ordinary people and the government could save by better their managing waste,” he says.

“If we know how much money we’re losing because of waste problems, we’ll have a better idea about how much money we could actually save by getting involved in waste management activities.” he says.

For further information please email Sione Fakaosi, National Coordinator IWP Tonga at nciwpton@kalianet.to

Contact Name	Steve Menzies
e-mail	stevem@sprep.org
Phone	(685) 21929 Ext 268
Fax	(685) 20231

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