(28 August 2024)
• Esteemed Guests,
• Representatives of Government Ministries,
• Dear principals, staff members and students of the respective colleges and primary schools,
• Representatives of the Samoa and Tokelau Association of Recyclers,
• Members of the Private Sector,
• Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to address you today on behalf of UNDP, for the Handover Ceremony of the two programmes: 1) the Recover-Enrich-Appreciate-Prosper, or REAP, and the 2) The-Bag-That-Builds, or TBTB, that UNDP is implementing under its Circular Economy for the Recovery of Waste in Samoa Transition Project, commonly referred to as the CERO Waste Project.
This project builds on and intends to scale up the successes of the CERO Waste pilot phase to consolidate a foundation for a scalable transition to an inclusive and climate-resilient circular economy, targeting the plastic waste stream that accounts for Samoa’s second largest waste stream, and a problematic source of terrestrial and marine ecosystem pollution and degradation.
Over the past 3 months, teachers, students and support staff of the participating schools have been working diligently to implement the core objectives of these two programmes. This included (i) the daily collection of plastic waste from various sources including households, the students’ homes and the school premises, (ii) the segregation of waste in school premises through the special designed TBTB bags and collection cages, (iii) and the weekly collection of the TBTB bags from the schools to the segregation site at the STAR premises at Vaitele.
The two programmes complement each other: the REAP programme empowers teachers to guide students on the circularity journey, and the TBTB programme is a pilot demonstration of the learning strands provided in the REAP Guide, where students practice to ‘walk the talk’.
In July, UNDP hosted and facilitated the REAP Training of Trainers, where teachers were empowered to guide students in exploring the past, examine the present and create a positive vision for the future, to deliver a tangible solution to an existential problem for small island states like Samoa, while at the same time supporting local economic and social benefits.
Essentially, the REAP and The-Bag-That-Builds programmes are a cornerstone of a broader commitment to environmental sustainability and circular economy principles. By educating young minds and engaging communities, it aims to foster a generation of environmentally conscious citizens.
Together, the REAP programme and TBTB programme have been implemented in close partnership with the Government of Samoa, through the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Ministry of Education and Culture.
We are very grateful to the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which is generously funding our work on the circular economy in Samoa’s waste sector.
We acknowledge the significance of these initiatives and will remain committed to supporting Samoa in its circular economy transition through the CERO Waste project and future engagements, in particular the expansion and upscaling of the REAP and TBTB programmes. To put in perspective, the effectiveness of these programmes, the TBTB’s target for collection of plastic waste across 20 participating schools is 1,000 kg of plastic waste prevented from going to the landfill or environmental leakage. After just 3 months of implementation across 11 participating schools, the programme collected a total of 6,631kg of plastic waste (600% more than the target). Imagine if we roll out the programme to the rest of the 300+ primary schools, and 100+ Colleges in Samoa, how significant it will be for our environment and for the wellbeing of our people!
In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to convey our gratitude to Simon Barlett and CRDC Global, Brett Howell and the Howell Conservation Fund, and to the Samoa and Tokelau Association of Recyclers, in particular Nancy Vito and Patricia Laga’aia, for your commitment and support to make these programmes a success.
Finally, to the participating schools, thank you for being part of these important programmes, and thank you for your commitment to a clean and safe environment. Fa’afetai tele lava for paving the way to a circular society in Samoa, where efforts to manage waste go beyond sustainability to the regeneration of waste into useful and safe resources for the people.
Soifua ma ia manuia.
SOURCE – UNDP in Samoa, Cook Islands, Tokelau & Niue
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