RAROTONGA (Pacnews) — The Cook Islands is looking to neighboring Tahiti as a model for a possible government-private sector partnership in waste management.
Environment Minister Kete Ioane and two directors of local company Recycle Cook Islands leave for the Tahitian capital, Papeete on Feb. 20 to look at the waste management partnership Tahiti has used since 1997.
Recycle Cook Islands directors have visited Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific Islands and found the Tahiti model the most effective. They have briefed Cook Islands government ministers on this.
In Tahiti, a joint venture between the territorial government and private investors replaced the municipal rubbish collection. A company was set up to implement environmentally friendly processes for waste treatment and recycling involving solids, liquids and perishables.
Recycle Cook Islands director John Wichman said a government-run waste management facility on Rarotonga, the main island of the Cooks, will not last the planned 15 years. Plans have to be made for an alternative system as no one wants another landfill, he added.