Waste management: Seychelles hosts investor forum on zero landfilling solutions

Those present were able to examine the challenges Seychelles is facing in waste management with the island nation currently producing around 10,000 tonnes of waste annually. (Seychelles Nation)

(Seychelles News Agency) - Seychelles hosted an investor forum on Wednesday and Thursday with the aim to address the urgent need for sustainable waste disposal methods and to explore solutions that completely eliminate the concept of landfills.  

The event, held at the Savoy Resort and Spa, was organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is a member of the World Bank, and COWI - an international consulting group.

Entitled "Investor Forum on Zero Landfilling Solutions for Seychelles", the event was built around the central theme of achieving zero landfilling through innovative waste management strategies, which offers numerous benefits, including environmental preservation, reduced pollution, and the conservation of limited land resources.

The forum was also to keep in line with creating a "cleaner Seychelles".

The chief executive of the Land Waste Management Agency (LWMA), Shane Emilie, told SNA "The forum is something that we have been discussing for a while now, where we are inviting investors to help find a solution." 

Emilie said this also ties in with the Solid Waste Master Plan, "which had been developed a while back, but its execution is still in the preliminary stages."

During the forum, those present were able to examine the challenges Seychelles is facing in waste management with the island nation currently producing around 10,000 tonnes of waste annually.

"We want to reduce the amount of waste taken to the landfill to a point where people may start to see its value," he explained.

Several international companies had the opportunity to present innovative and cutting-edge technologies that contribute to the reduction of waste sent to landfills through recycling and other means.

"We also looked at the various challenges people faced with managing their waste in the community and whether they are sorting them correctly," said Emilie.

Once the waste is sorted, the forum provides investors the chance to provide solutions to tackle these issues.

The CEO of LWMA revealed that the organisation will be working closely with local communities to ensure that they reuse and recycle their waste so as to remove the need to move to a third landfill.

Seychelles has embarked on a drive to effectively deal with its waste; it was in October this year that the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal for seeking a loan of $5 million from the World Bank.

This was to help train environment officials and those who work on the landfill and reduce waste going to the landfill by educating people on how to reduce waste in bins by separating those that can be used as compost and removing PET bottles, glass and metals.

The move towards a cleaner Seychelles will help protect biodiversity, and reduce pollution and quality of life while positioning the nation as a global leader in responsible waste management.