Majuro Atoll Waste Company officially launched its new recycling program Friday in support of the government’s container deposit legislation.
President Hilda Heine led a delegation of VIPs to the ceremony that showed off MAWC’s recycling equipment located in a warehouse at the entry to the Batkan landfill. Heine did the honors of cutting the ribbon for the new operation.
“This is a day of happiness, a day of celebration,” said Minister in Assistance David Paul who spoke on behalf of the RMI government. “This recycling program will happen here and for the rest of the Marshall Islands.” He credited President Heine, the late Minister Mattlan Zackhras, and Senator Sherwood Tibon for being the champions for this initiative.
EPA General Manager Moriana Phillip recognized and thanked the many people involved in making the recycling program possible and commented on the positive impact it will have for the island.
Under the new recycling program, MAWC will pay people five cents per aluminum can, glass drinking bottle and PET plastic bottle — provided they are not crushed and are clean. A minimum of 20 cans is required for recycling.
In the past, people looked down on employees of MAWC and even employees felt it was an embarrassing place to work, said MAWC Manager Jorelik Tibon. “Today, we are proud to bear the name ‘Waste Warriors.’” Tibon added that MAWC workers “take pride in what they are doing.”
A recently passed law establishes a deposit fee of six cents for canned and bottled beverages that importers pay to the national government on arrival of drinks in the country.
Read more about this in the August 17, 2018 edition of the Marshall Islands Journal.