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🌊 The ocean is our lifeblood. It feeds us. It connects us. It carries our stories. So when the ocean speaks we heat it. And it's telling us: Something is wrong 💔. Plastic pollution is choking our oceans and threatening the very source of life for Pacific peoples. We must act to protect our ocean, our communities and our future🌍✨. 🤝 That's why the Pacific Ocean Litter Project (POLP) - implemented ny SPREP with support from the Australian Government - is partnering with 14 Pacific Island countries to reduce the volume of single-use plastics that reach our ocean. Because protecting the ocean means protecting our future🌊✨

This case study provides an overview of key components of the project, such as community engagement, completion of waste audits, selection of infrastructure, training, and policy integration, and design of selected compost facilities.

This animation introduces government decision-makers to the concept of the circular economy and its relevance to waste management in Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste. Currently, most waste systems in the region follow a linear "take-make-waste" model, where imported goods are used and then discarded - often into landfills or the environment. This results in: • Overflowing landfills (1,141 tonnes of waste per day), • Marine pollution (up to 365 tonnes per day), • Terrestrial dumping and burning (estimated 227 tonnes daily), • And contributes to climate change and biodiversity loss. The animation presents a circular approach as a smarter, more sustainable alternative - keeping resources in use through redesign, reuse, repair, recycling, and better policy controls. It highlights practical examples of how Pacific governments can begin applying circular thinking across waste streams

As part of its creative waste awareness campaign, Wan Smolbag produced an engaging comic book titled “Tumas Doti Olbaot “Too Much Litter” Adapted from the popular theatre play Bae Yumi Winim Kompetesen Ia, the comic follows the same characters and storyline as they tackle the everyday challenges of waste in their community. Designed for schools and youth groups, the comic uses humour, familiar settings, and bold illustrations to communicate practical messages about reducing, reusing, and properly disposing of rubbish. With its accessible language and relatable content, Tumas Doti Olbaot is an innovative educational tool

Video resource to support the delivery of the organics training session, condenses the accompanying organics training PowerPoint slides and Facilitator Guide into a 60-minute video resource. It can be viewed by trainers prior to facilitating the Operation of Medium-scale Composting Facility in the Pacific and Timor-Leste course. Part of a broader suite of resources aimed at improving organic waste management, these training resources help divert organic materials from landfill and turn waste into a valuable resource. The video can be used for trainers, officers, and facility operators seeking to undertake training on compost facility operation.

PowerPoint slides to support the delivery of the organics training session, guiding trainers in the facilitation of both classroom learning and hands-on practical exercises. Part of a broader suite of resources aimed at improving organic waste management, these training resources help divert organic materials from landfill and turn waste into a valuable resource. The PowerPoint slides can be used for trainers, officers, and facility operators seeking to undertake training on compost facility operation.

Organic material is biodegradable ma􀆩er such as vegeta􀆟on from yard clean-ups, kitchen scraps (food); garden cu􀆫ngs, grass, and branches, and paper. Combined data from waste audits in the Pacific found that approximately 40% of waste disposal to our landfills and dumps is organics.

Recently asbestos waste removal actions in the Pacific Island region included off- island disposal, whereas local disposal would have been more economic and appropriate. Proper landfill disposal of asbestos containing material (ACM) waste remains a key strategy for ensuring the safe containment of ACM, preventing fibre release, and minimizing environmental and human health impacts. Some Pacific countries with suitable facilities and procedures in place do permit the disposal of asbestos to land. Requirements and best practices for the two landfill options, i.e., (1) dedicated ACM landfill cell, (2) co-disposal in a sanitary landfill, are provided. The dedicated ACM landfill cell option offers enhanced safety but requires some specialized landfill design, while the co-disposal in a sanitary landfill is a lower-cost option but requires that strict landfill management practices be followed.

To dispose of asbestos containing material in local landfills in the Pacific, very specific activities are required to ensure the safety of the local community and environment. Cost components for the development of an asbestos containing material landfill cell are documented utilizing a Nauru scenario.

This Position Paper highlights the problem of asbestos disposal in the Pacific region, including Timor Leste. There remains a significant amount of legacy asbestos containing material (ACM) to be managed and the safe disposal of ACM waste is the focus of this paper. Once landfilled or entombed, the asbestos containing material (ACM) should not be disturbed. A PESTLE analysis little doubt that local burial of asbestos waste, conducted and maintained under strict health and safety protocols, is the best solution to the legacy issues of ACM in Pacific Island countries. However, some challenges remain, including political and community resistance, cultural concerns, and securing adequate funding for infrastructure.