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The Commonwealth Youth Forum brought together young people from across the Commonwealth to discuss emerging issues impacting them including the plastic pollution crisis. We spoke to some young delegates to hear how the plastic pollution crisis is impacting their communities, their role in addressing the issue and the kind of future they would like to see. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) brings together delegations from 56 nations from Africa, the Caribbean and Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. Samoa is hosting the meeting this week, the first time it's held in the Pacific Islands. SPREP through the Australian Government-funded, Pacific Ocean Litter Project #POLP is working together with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Samoa to support the Greening of #CHOGM2024 activities.

As part of the Greening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) initiative, young people have been actively involved in waste audits, and monitoring waste collected across CHOGM venues. This provides insights into the source, types and quantities of waste generated during CHOGM to help plan for effective waste management strategies for the future. SPREP through the Australian Government funded, Pacific Ocean Litter Project #POLP is working together with Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Samoa (MNRE) to ensure a more sustainable and environmentally friendly Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting #CHOGM, currently underway in Samoa. This includes raising public education and awareness of plastic pollution and the single-use plastic issue in Samoa as well as provisions of waste and skip bins for proper waste segregation, collection and transportation for proper waste management including waste audits and monitoring.