WASTE MANAGEMENT A GROWING CONCERN IN POHNPEI; WAY FORWARD

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLONIA 000157 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV PGOV FM SUBJECT: WASTE MANAGEMENT A GROWING CONCERN IN POHNPEI; WAY FORWARD UNCLEAR ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Pohnpei's Environmental Protection Agency is focusing on litter, pollution and waste management and how to implement an April 2006 law on those issues. The two largest environmental NGOs in Pohnpei meanwhile are concerned that the state is not adequately addressing a growing waste problem. Everyone involved also has a different understanding of what the state is or should be doing. End Summary. Environmental Protection Agency Focus -------------- ¶2. (SBU) During a December 8 meeting, Pohnpei Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) consultant Donna Scheuring and other members of the EPA staff discussed the agency's primary efforts to manage waste. The single largest issue is a plan to move Pohnpei's current dump site. Other activities include three annual island wide clean-ups, implementing a 2006 waste management legislation, and reviewing possible "container fees." Scheuring added that two of the biggest waste problems are aluminum cans and car batteries. The sheer bulk of cans available in Pohnpei that end up on the side of the road or in any of hundreds of dump sites prevent any realistic cleanup. Pohnpei also has no reliable means to dispose of hazardous waste (computers, old cars, used oil). When car batteries are replaced, the old ones are used to tie down tarps, seats, or just left to rot. According to Scheuring, the improper disposal of car batteries has led to high blood lead levels in children. ¶3. (SBU) Pohnpei has set aside land near Palikir, the national capital, to act as a new dump site. In conjunction with the new dump site, EPA is reviewing how it can more effectively manage the waste. The most economical and practical method would be for people to sort waste at home, but without legislation mandating the separation of biological, recyclable, and other waste, it will not happen. Scheuring is not convinced people will take an active involvement in limiting waste-related problems. As an example she cites three island-wide cleanup programs EPA sponsors every year, with support from each of the Embassies in the FSM. People actively clean up the roads and collect trash and are well aware of the negative side effects from improper waste disposal, including simple aesthetics to the impact on water and soil. Yet the day after trash is picked up, the same people throw stuff anywhere. ¶4. (SBU) Scheuring believes one of the most effective steps the state can do to limit some waste is to charge a "container fee" on all imports. The fee would go towards waste management or can be refunded when items such as aluminum cans are returned. That said, importers and businesses in Pohnpei strongly object and to date no such fees are assessed. Another option is for the police to enforce litter laws currently in place. Scheuring does not anticipate enforcement to take place any time soon. ¶5. (SBU) The EPA staff believes the one area that it can have the greatest impact is litter control. It is working with the Conservation Society of Pohnpei to reach out into the schools to discuss the negative effects of litter. Minor steps by the state government also seem to have dramatic impact. In the areas that the state clears the grass and shrubs along roadsides there is a noticeable decrease in litter. Scheuring believes that there is enough awareness that people don't want to be seen as leaving trash on the side of the road. She adds, however, that, as in many other areas, there is no enforcement. Abandoned cars, oil runoff, car batteries, and other waste are simply ignored. NGOs Comment -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Conservation Society of Pohnpei (CSP) Director Patterson Shed opened his comments to EconOff on December 10 by stating that the state keeps putting waste management on the back burner, and without state action not much will be done. Shed added that he had approached Pohnpei State legislators about adopting the Fukuoka waste management system that the Kosrae state government successfully implemented in its state. (Note: Shed described the Fukuoka waste management system as a well established, low impact, and proven cost-effective system. End Note.) Pohnpei commented that it cannot afford the $100,000 start up fee, to which Shed responded he can help raise the funds if the State would just provide legislation. ¶7. (SBU) Nature Conservancy advisors Mae Adams and Ricky Carl echoed Shed's same point that the State is simply not taking a leading role. Carl gave two examples. He stated that on at least one occasion JEMCO provided incentives to purchase junked cars, but it did not work. He argued that many complain about lack of enforcement, which is accurate to some extent, but on KOLONIA 00000157 002 OF 002 some waste issues the legislation is unclear or simply provides authority for regulations to be written by someone else. When the legislation is weak, law enforcement will have a difficult time knowing what to enforce. ¶8. (SBU) Adams, Shed, Carl, and Scheuring all expressed concerns about how Pohnpei will collect trash in one location. They each agreed that the location near Palikir is appropriate, but that people would rather use the hundreds of informal dumpsites around the island instead of going to the current site. There is no reason to believe that will change. Shed and Adams implied that beyond providing some land, no plan is yet in place on how to properly use or manage that land and the waste that should go there. Recycling Too Expensive -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Adams and Carl reviewed recycling efforts to date and the limited steps Pohnpei has taken to address the growing waste management issue. When commodity prices hit their peak in the mid-2000s, two private companies opened collection sites in Pohnpei for aluminum cans and other metals. When commodity prices dropped, one company closed and the other, a Chinese firm, stopped exporting cans and used vehicles. The site, with all the cans, junked vehicles, and equipment is for sale. Kolonia town, meanwhile, has its own plant that can melt cans and it continues to take in aluminum cans. ¶10. (SBU) Adams added that 2006 legislation permits the state to charge a five cent fee on all aluminum cans and that a portion would be refunded when the cans were brought to a recycling plant. When businesses complained and said they would not pay the upfront cost, the State decided not to enforce the law. (Note: Post was unable to find such a precise law. Legislation passed in 2006 gives the EPA authority to establish a fee, but Post is unaware of the EPA implementing any fee. End Note.) Shed, meanwhile, states his organization continues to press the legislature to pass recycling laws. In particular, the CSP believes a five cent per can deposit would work. ¶11. (SBU) Scheuring states that her organization continues to press the state government to pass an aluminum can deposit fee, but has had no success. According to Scheuring, Governor Ehsa is supportive of a strong recycling program, but there is not much impetus within the legislature. Other than aluminum cans, the EPA does not see much opportunity for recycling within Pohnpei or the FSM. The EPA has reviewed a number of options. There is not enough volume to make paper or plastic recycling cost effective. Tires are a particular problem. The limited volume makes tire shredders uneconomical, so many end up floating in the lagoon or in mangrove swamps. ¶12. (SBU) Towards the end of the discussion with EconOff, Adams expressed some hope that Yap State may be finding an innovative approach to removing aluminum cans from Yap. Adams stated that within the FSM, Yap is the largest per capita consumer of Budweiser products. The Matson shipping company imports the products and then leaves Yap with empty containers. Yap, she states, is working with Budweiser to have Matson take the cans back out with the containers for Budweiser to recycle. Comment -------------- ¶13. (SBU) Although litter and waste issues are not yet ubiquitous, it is a clearly visible issue and a growing health hazard. The one common theme between each of Post's interlocutors, including the State's EPA, is that elected officials are just not paying attention to the growing problem. Post's experience seems to reinforce that perception. When trying to arrange a meeting with State legislators on waste management or recycling, each of the offices contacted replied "we don't handle that issue" and did not know who did. End Comment. DOUGLASS