Home > Programmes > International Waters Project

Mr. Rikiaua Takeke

Deputy Secretary, Kiribati Ministry of Environment, Lands & Agriculture Development (MELAD)

1. How long have you been in your current role with the Ministry?

I was transferred to MELAD in April 2004 and got heavily involved with waste management issues the moment I sat on my MELAD chair.

2. Can you provide us with a brief summary of your career before you were appointed to your current position?

From 1983-1995 I was a secondary school teacher and later Curriculum Development Officer with the Ministry of Education. In June 1995, I became the Private Secretary of the former President; then Clerk to Cabinet (1997-98) and later established and manned the Press Liaison Office at the Office of Te Beretitenti (1999-2000). In 2001 I became Senior Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Line & Phoenix Island Development on Christmas Island. Prior to joining MELAD, I was Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (2003)

3. What do you most like to do for relaxation when you’re not at work?

I plant bananas and pawpaws in Banana Circles in my backyard at dawn and write stories or poetry at dusk.

4. Kiribati has made some very real progress in improving the management of solid waste over the last 3 years. What do you think have been the main improvements?

The introduction of a Container Deposit recycling system is now basically paying people to remove cans and plastic bottles from the environment and the new Kaoki Mange! Materials Recovery Facility is shipping this material back to Australia.

We also had a very successful “Tidy Town” competition last year to encourage communities to clean up their surrounding areas.

People are starting to move away from the old habit of putting all their mixed waste into piles in the street for collection by the Council. They are starting to put their organic rubbish into Banana Circles and only their remaining “rubbish” is going into the new biodegradable Green Bags.

We also now have new trucks to pick up these bags and take them to our new landfills.

5. Can you tell us a little about the Container Deposit Legislation?

In November 2004 Parliament passed a law to put a small (5c) deposit on drink cans and plastic bottles at import. These deposits are held in a Special Fund and a “Waste Operator” is appointed under the regulations to pay back the refunds to the public.

People can now return their cans and PET bottles to a collection point, which buys them back at 4 cents each, with one cent going to help finance the operation. We only have 5c pieces, so consumers bring 5 items at a time for 20c. In this way, this material is removed from the waste stream by use of a simple economic tool.

FSPK has been the driving force behind the program. They are now operating the Kaoki Mange Materials Recovery Facility at the Port of Betio.

It is hoped that this new recycling operation will eventually be privatised and the system will be fully self-financed by money raised from the deposits and the sale of recycled materials.

Lead acid batteries are also recycled under the Container Deposit System. The Materials Recovery Facility also currently collecting scrap metals, old vehicles and heavy equipment, glass bottles, HDPE plastic bottles, cardboard cartons, and scrap electrical equipment.

6. What are the main solid waste problems that Kiribati is still trying to address? Are littering, collection and disposal services, and illegal dumping still issues that you are trying to address?

More work needs to be done on these issues but positive changes are taking place. We need to continue to find ways to improve the system and make it easier for people to sort their organics and recycling and to safely dispose of their remaining waste.

7. How is the collection and disposal of solid waste currently managed in South Tarawa? Is there one lead agency that coordinates these services?

The Betio Town Council and Teinainano Urban Council have been providing waste collection services since the colonial days.

The Public Health Schedule says councils have to provide for the cleaning and clearing of any public place but they have no clear legal responsibility for waste collection under the Local Government Act.

The Environment and Conservation Division is currently playing more of a regulatory role than a coordinating role but, under the 1999 Environment Act, the ECD has a mandate for coordinating waste management services.

8. Does Kiribati have legislation that deals directly with waste management?

The Environment Act 1999 does deal with waste to some extent, but has no strong, precise provisions.

The Special Fund (Waste Materials Recovery) Act 2004 specifically targets recycling of aluminium cans, PET bottles, and lead-acid batteries. This Act also allows for other materials to be included under the regulations.

9. Can you briefly explain how the Kiribati IWP is trying to help improve the management of solid waste in Bikenibeu West?

The International Waters Project started working with the pilot community of Bikenibeu West by meeting with the various religious groups. During these meetings the community was introduced to the objectives, scope, and proposed timeframe of the project. Participatory workshops were then used to try and understand the “root causes” of waste problems in this community and to try and come up with practical, low-cost, ideas for addressing these issues.

Last year we began to promote some waste reduction competitions to really build on existing initiatives and to start promoting the message that “Waste is a Resource”.

The first “Akeatemange” (Zero Waste) competition was designed to encourage people to use the “Banana Circles” to compost their organics, the “Kaokimange” for recycling, and the Greenbag for any remaining waste.

Following the success of this first competition we decided that we needed another competition to really focus on promoting the Greenbag. The Greenbags had initially been given out freely to householders by FSP and IWPK – but this arrangement was not financially sustainable.

The Greenbag competition was designed to raise the profile of the Greenbag as an important tool for sorting waste - but it was also designed to start preparing people for the possible introduction of a ‘user pays’ system where the cost of the Greenbag could be used to finance the collection and disposal service.

10. Can you explain briefly how the IWP has been using activities like the Akeatemange competition to build partnerships with other organizations and promote the sorting of waste in the community?

We understand that the IWP will only be successful in improving the management of waste if we can develop genuine partnerships with the pilot area community, the Councils, and non-government organisations such as FSPK.

A full consultation was undertaken with the key stakeholders to try and find ways the project could enhance or complement the existing waste activities. The community competitions were well supported because they were directly based on these consultations with our key stakeholders

FSP contributed by providing Greenbags and advice on promoting Banana Circles while the TUC extended their waste collection service beyond their jurisdiction to cover the whole pilot area.

11. How is the IWPK helping to improve the management of waste throughout the rest of South Tarawa?

We believe the IWP can really help to "trial" and “export” waste management solutions to the rest of South Tarawa. We are planning to trial a user-pays system for rubbish diposal using the Greenbags and we are already looking at how we can use these lessons to improve the management of waste at the national level.

In the short term we want to be able to work with Bikenibeu West to increase recycling, the use of Banana Circles, to reduce littering and illegal dumping, and to show that we are reducing the volume of waste going to landfill.

We have made a good start with the IWP but the true test of the project will be when we can take these lessons and really use them to improve the way we manage our waste throughout the rest of Tarawa and Kiribati.

For more information on the IWPK please email Ritia Bakineti at: ritia_b@tskl.net.ki