Home > Programmes > International Waters Project

Tekori Ruka

Turning Kiribati's organic "rubbish" into fruit and vegetables

For years it appeared that most of the 40,000 people living on South Tarawa would simply have to accept sharing their streets and beaches with the 6,500 tonnes of solid waste they generated every year.

However, as growing volumes of solid and “liquid” waste started to put Tarawa’s fragile water lens and lagoon under increasing pressure, the subsequent health risks simply became too difficult to ignore. Now the country is fighting back with a number of creative initiatives designed to encourage communities to turn their waste into a useful resource.

"Many people now see rubbish differently than before. We can use the green waste for our gardens and the rest can go into the Greenbag for the landfill. We love to keep our place this way now!” Tekori Ruka

Ritia Bakineti, the National Coordinator of the Kiribati IWP, says the project was actively looking for ways to support existing waste reduction initiatives and promote some practical solutions in the community. The result was the creation of a successful household waste reduction competition appropriately titled “Akeatemange” or “Zero Waste”.

“The competition ran from October-December 2004 and we felt it was really an ideal time to support the establishment of the new Kaoki Mange! Resource Recovery Facility in Betio and the Tarawa Urban Council’s new landfill at Nanikai,” she says.

The Kiribati IWP has been working with the new Kaoki Mange! Resource Recovery Facility, and the Tarawa Urban Council, to find ways to improve waste management throughout the rest of the country. The competition was designed to encourage residents to reduce littering, compost plant material, and separate their remaining “waste” into new biodegradable “Green Bags” for collection and disposal by the Council.

Tekori Ruka one of the main competition winners, has benefited directly from a steady supply of rich and fertile compost from her new Banana Circle. A Banana Circle is a simple composting method where several banana trees are planted around a hole lined with cardboard and any plant waste is simply fed into the hole. As well as providing bananas the Banana Circle has transformed her family’s once barren soil into an abundant garden with flourishing cucumbers and cabbages. Produce which she now sells at the local market.

Every morning Tekori’s youngest daughter sweeps the house and puts the plant waste in the Banana Circle. The waste that does not rot is placed in the Green Bags. This helps to keep organics out of the landfill and helps to protect the groundwater lens because t he family’s grey water from the kitchen and laundry is used to water the banana roots.

Tekori says the competition has been very successful in helping the community to understand the personal benefits of sorting their waste and viewing organic rubbish as a valuable resource.

“I think South Tarawa will be a much better place in a few years. Many people see rubbish differently than before. We can use the greenwaste for our gardens and the rest can go into the green bag for the landfill. We love to keep our place this way now!”

“My husband and my children understands about the intention of the project and are very encouraged to be active. The competition gave us a better understanding as to how to deal with our waste and informed us about the quality of our well water. We never before realize how contaminated our freshwater is and we are determined to do something about it.

“The problem I face is collection of energy to keep encouraging everyone. Now that the competition has stopped, a lot of my friends have slackened so we are looking at ways of not only trying to solve the waste and contamination problems but also keeping everyone engaged,” she says.