LWMA laments increase in use of consumable goods in the country |13 October 2023
The press conference: (l to r) Brian Quatre, Rahul Mangroo, Shane Emilie and Terry Servina
The Landscape and Waste Management Agency (LWMA) has expressed its concern over the increase in the use of consumable goods in the country, especially electronic goods among other bulky waste, although the recent ‘Clean up the World’ campaign has shown a reduction in the amount of waste collected.
The agency’s chief executive, Shane Emilie, made the statement in a press conference held yesterday at LWMA premises, English River, to share data from the recent ‘Clean Up the World’ and ‘Clean Up Seychelles’ campaign. Statistics were compiled for the three main islands, Mahé, Praslin and La Digue.
Also present were deputy CEO, Rahul Mangroo; chief inspector commercial unit, Brian Quatre; and senior communications officer, Terry Servina.
Mr Emilie said some of the wastes found at bin sites, were in perfect condition, an indication that people were doing a lot of buying and getting rid of the items in a short period of time.
“We need to have more repair outlets so that people can get their equipment repaired or we need to ensure that goods imported are up to standard and of good quality so they last longer rather than for them to end up in the landfill in such a short time,” said Mr Emilie.
This year, the Clean Up the World campaign was extended from September 15 to the 30, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the event in the country. The Clean Up the World is held once during the year in the month of September while the ‘Clean Up Seychelles’ is done on a quarterly basis during the year. Given that both campaigns fall around the same time, they were held together.
As usual, the segregation of waste was mandatory at all three landfills in order for free disposal. Mixed waste disposed at the landfill carried a disposal fee. On Mahé, the installation of skips allowed people to dispose of their waste at the entrance, without having to go into the Providence landfill. Some pick-ups were allowed in if their amount of waste was big.
Statistics from the two clean up exercises show that a total of 61.3 tonnes of waste was collected on Mahé this year compared to 91.2 tonnes during that same period last year.
It is to be noted that for the ‘Clean Up Seychelles’ in April, the waste load recorded was 43.83 tonnes which dropped to 27.99 tonnes in July before increasing to 61.3 tonnes in September. A total of 38.73 tonnes (63.7%) was bulky waste, 15.12 tonnes (24.66%) was green waste and 7.46 tonnes of scrap metal (12.18%), were collected on Mahé.
Given that there are no weighing equipment at the Praslin and La Digue landfills, the wasted collected was measured by the number of pick up trips made. A total of 14 trips (56%) of mixed waste, 10 trips (40%) of green waste and 1 trip (4%) of scrap metal, making a total of 25 trips, were carried out to the Praslin landfill.
For La Digue this was 20 trips (76.92%) of green waste, 5 trips (19.23%) of mixed waste and 1 trip (3.85%) of scrap metal, making a total of 26 trips on the island.
Mr Emilie said that fewer participants were recorded for the two clean up exercises and that LWMA will ensure better communication next year.
He added that to prevent overwhelming of landfills, LWMA will encourage reuse and repair and advise the public to give away items whenever possible , before throwing them out as a last option.
Given that there is a scrap metal industry, people will also be encouraged to deliver their scrap metal to the dealers instead of the landfill and to produce compost from their green waste as much as possible.
“There is this idea of circular economy that the country is embarking on and there is money to be made out of waste. So people could take the advantage for their own benefit and that of the country,” Mr Emilie said.
Even though it is the responsibility of each and every one to ensure the wellbeing of the country’s environment, Mr Emilie said that LWMA in collaboration with its partners will continue to educate the public on the best practices for the disposal of waste at bin sites.
He also called on people to stop vandalising the bins and other facilities such as benches and planted flowers for aesthetical purposes.
“We all have our roles and responsibilities to ensure that our country remains clean and to refrain from vandalising facilities put at our disposal. We know that we have to improve in some areas but Seychellois must take their responsibility and show respect towards all facilities at their disposal and to ensure that the environment remains clean,” Mr Emilie said.
Photos by Patrick Joubert/LWMA
