PM Rabuka: ‘Keep our environment clean’

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has urged Fijians to keep their environment clean and ensure the recycling and proper disposal of waste because the country’s economic life is heavily reliant on the environment.

He expressed this statement at yesterday’s Global Recycling Day celebrations on Denarau Island, Nadi, an annual event hosted by Waste Recyclers Fiji and the Pacific Recycling Foundation.

“We tell the tourists to come and they are entertained by young people who can sing, people who can dance, they come and look at our beaches and our ocean and the pristine appearance and form,” Mr Rabuka said.

“We would like them to continue coming here, but if we are not careful, they’ll be swimming among plastic bottles rather than among the beautiful fish and coral in our sea.

“You do things that will better our future, it’s not just about reading from prepared speeches and saying that you are champion for this and champion for that, I want us all to be practitioners of what we preach and we need to be practical about our care.”

At yesterday’s event, an emotional Mr Rabuka acknowledged 10 women from Lautoka’s Vunato settlement who work as pillars of recycling, formally known as waste pickers, to provide for their families.

“A lot of our bottle pickers are from informal settlements.

“Rural to urban migration in Fiji forced a lot of us to live in informal settlements.

“I wish to acknowledge these pillars of recycling for their sheer determination to provide for their families and keep the environment clean in the recycling space.”