The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change is stepping up surveillance to crack down on illegal dumping, after residents in Nausori reported rubbish being dumped in a nearby river and burned in the open.
Officers from the Ministry’s Waste Management and Pollution Control Unit joined Health Inspectors, the Assistant District Officer and District Advisory Councillors for an awareness session with residents of Saweni and Lakena Hill No. 1.
The session focused on educating residents about proper waste disposal practices and how dumping waste in rivers and burning it in the open damages the environment and puts public health at risk.
Residents raised the practical problems behind the dumping, patchy collection services among them and worked with officials to find fixes.
Permanent Secretary for Environment and Climate Change Dr Sivendra Michael thanked residents for taking part, and said the Ministry would expand community-led watch programmes as part of their approach to addressing illegal dumping and littering nationwide.