Pacific "R and R"

Forest and Bird, Issue 279, 1 February 1996, Page 28

Pacific "R and R"

@ cook islands

*N’R THESE DAYS must mean reuse and recycle. Rubbish has become a huge and visible problem in the Cooks as in other Pacific island states, with the growth in population and the consumption of imported manufactured goods. Until recently, all rubbish was burnt, usually for some unfathomable reason up against the largest nearby tree, thereby charring its trunk. Everything went in the fire, garden and kitchen waste along with tins and plastic, though the Conservation Service is now trying to educate people on the values of composting. The recycling of paper and plastic is also seen as an avenue to involve and mobilise local people. But it is time consuming and isn’t widely practised. The Minister for the Environment and Tourism made himself very unpopular by publicly speculating on banning plastic bags and disposable nappies, which litter beaches and roadsides. Despite aluminium can recycling schemes, the cans are still dumped on beaches, and plastic bags easily blow out to sea from the beachside rubbish fires where they can harm sea life such as turtles. The official dumps on both islands are something of a disaster. On Rarotonga the dump is located up in the hills behind the town in a site originally dug for a reservoir but which never functioned properly. On Aitutaki, the old dump is adjacent to the airport runway, and only metres from the beach and lagoon. A new site has yet to be found.