[Photo: FILE]
Discarded plastic bottles and aluminium cans are being turned into income opportunities for communities through the Return & Earn Fiji recycling program.
The initiative is creating new green income streams for schools, youth groups, faith-based organisations and individuals by rewarding people for collecting and returning recyclable materials.
Return & Earn Fiji Representative and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Head of Public Affairs Dwain Qalovaki points out that the program’s impact extends beyond waste reduction, with recycling now creating opportunities for communities to earn.
The program, he states, is attracting participation from a wide range of groups, including schools, youth organisations and faith-based communities.
Schools are using recycling as part of clean-up initiatives, where students collect bottles and cans and receive refunds through council-led collection programs.
Qalovaki says some communities are also exploring recycling as a regular income activity.
The program has also created opportunities for people collecting recyclable materials in large quantities, including street dwellers and retired community members.
Retired individuals are among those actively collecting bottles and cans and bringing them to collection centres.
The increase in community participation has contributed to a sharp rise in collections.
Return & Earn recorded just over 2 million containers collected in the first quarter, before increasing to 5.5 million containers by the end of last month.
The increase represents a 179 percent quarter-on-quarter growth, reflecting stronger public involvement in recycling.
Qalovaki adds that the numbers indicate a behaviour change, with more households choosing to store empty beverage containers and return them instead of disposing of them.
