Towards Osaka Blue Ocean Vision - G20 Implementation Framework for Actions on Marine Plastic Litter

Solomon Islands

Actions and Progress on Marine Plastic Litter
Last Update : 2024/07/03

Policy framework

National Action Plan

Name:

  1. National Waste Management & Pollution Control Strategy 2017-2026
  2. Draft National Marine Litter Action Plan developed under CLIP (Commonwealth Litter
    Program) in 2019
  3. National Ocean Policy
  4. National Implementation Plan on Persistent Organic Pollutants (SINIPs)
  5. National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan (NBSAP)
  6. National Tourism Policy
  7. Solomon Islands Recycling & Waste Management Association Strategic Plan 2021-
    2031

Brief description:

  1. National Waste Management & Pollution Control Strategy 2017-2026 aligned with the Clean Pacific 2025. This Strategy addresses five main waste streams: Solid Waste, Liquid Waste, Hazardous and Chemical Waste, Health-care Waste and E-waste. The Strategy serves as a blueprint for waste management and pollution control that captures the national priorities and targets and identifies the relevant strategies to realize the priority targets in the next decade. Under Strategic action 10.1 focus on waste and pollution in the aquatic and marine environment.
  2. Draft National Marine Litter Action Plan developed under CLIP (Commonwealth Litter Program) was developed in 2019 but not yet finalized due to not enough funding to finalize the national document after the completion of the CLIP program. The Government through the Ministry need to review the draft document and have it aligned with the Pacific regional Marine Litter Action plan 2025
  3. National Ocean Policy. The Solomon Islands National Ocean Policy aims to protect and increase the value of ocean resources & also the inherent value of the marine ecosystems and species upon which that wealth relies on. It recognizes the Polluter Pays Principle which states that “Those who intent to or incur harm to the ocean environment needs to be hold responsible in the full based on the calculated and intrinsic value of the ocean environment and its environmental services. There are five themes – one of the themes is “Ocean Threats” which includes marine pollution. Plastic is major contributor to marine pollution. One of the strategic actions is to develop proper sanitation and waste management systems throughout the country’s coastal catchments and shipping industry.
  4. National Implementation Plan for Persistent Organic Pollutants under the Stockholm Convention 2018. The National Implementation Plan (NIP) is a fulfillment of the country’s obligation as stipulated under Article 7 of the Convention, which requires a party to transmit a National Implementation Plan (NIP) within two years of the Convention entering into force. The production of the report including the plan couldn't have been more appropriate given the country’s delayed response as obliged under Article 7. It provides baseline data for the POPs, highlights the challenges, outlines the national priorities, and establishes strategies to address them, as determined by current gaps. As a platform for sound chemical management including POPs, the NIP provides a useful tool for an integrated national chemical management framework in Solomon Islands. The NIP represents a step forward to ensuring sound chemical management and the protection of the human health and environment.
  5. National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan
  6. Solomon Islands National Tourism Policy. This policy identifies 8 key policy areas One of the key policy area is transport and Infrastructure with a particular sub-section on Social Infrastructure is relevant to our discussion. Under the social Infrastructure section has five components. Two of the components of mention is “waste management” and “cleanliness” supports our proposal of single use plastic ban.
  7. Solomon Islands Recycling & Waste Management Association Strategic Plan 2021-2031. The association is a recognized body with the following objectives under its Constitution (1) to promote appropriate and best waste management practices for the protection of Solomon Island’s Environment, (2) to work towards a ‘Clean , Green and healthy ‘ Solomon Islands by promoting and implementing Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Return (4Rs) principles, (3) to represent the voice of Waste Management and Recycling advocates in Solomon Islands for a cleaner environment, (4) to support research and investigation for the collection and provision of waste management and recycling information and data in Solomon Islands, & (5) for the Government, development partners and other key stakeholders to fully support and recognize the association in terms of financial or political will to help promote recycling industry.

Legal framework

Name:
Environment Act 1998

  1. Environment Act 1998 & Environment Regulation 2008
  2. Current Review of Environment Bill 2022
  3. Fisheries Management Act 2017
  4. Shipping (Marine Pollution) Regulation 2011
  5. Solomon Islands Ports Act
  6. Solomon Islands Maritime Authority Act No.9 of 2018.
  7. Environmental Health Act 1980(version as at 1996)
  8. Forest Resources and Timber Utilization Act 1990 (version as at 1996)
  9. Mines and Minerals (Amendment) Act 2014
  10. Provincial Government Act 1997 (as at 1997)
  11. Customs & Excise (Import Duties) (Amendment No.2/Order 2021) RT

Brief description:

  1. Environment Act 1998 & Environment Regulation 2008. Under Part IV of the Environment Act focuses on control of pollution which includes waste management. The current regulation does not specifically mention plastic waste management. Section 55 of the Environment Act makes provision for the Minister to make regulations, prescribing all matters that are required or permitted to be prescribed or as the Minister may consider necessary or desirable to be prescribed for generally carrying out or giving effect to this Act.
  2. Environment Bill 2022. Currently under review and anticipated to be presented for parliament debate by end of the year (2022). This Environment Bill if passed in Parliament will repeal the current Environment Act 1998.
  3. Fisheries Management Act 2017. This is an act to make provisions for the conservation, management, development and sustainable use of fisheries and marine resources of Solomon Islands, to repeal the Fisheries Act 1998 and to make consequential amendments to the Provincial Government Act 1997 and the Town and Country Planning Act (Cap.154). Under Section 32 of the act focuses on pollution of the fishery waters.
  4. Shipping (Marine Pollution) Regulation 2011. The responsibility of preventing and responding to marine pollution from vessels is covered under this act under the mandate of the Solomon Islands Maritime Authority (SIMA).
  5. Solomon Islands Ports Act. Under the jurisdiction of the Solomon Islands Ports Authority, the management of wastes at the ports is regulated by the SI Ports Authority.
  6. Solomon Islands Maritime Authority Act No.9 of 2018. This act lays down rules for the establishment of the SI Maritime Authority as a financially self-sufficient organization with sufficient resources to carry out its functions, the implementation of international and regional maritime agreements and the implementation of applicable maritime laws. It also gives power to SIMA for the prevention of maritime pollution originating from vessels.
  7. Environmental Health Act 1980(version as at 1996. Under Section 24 states wastewater flow into streets or similar areas constitutes a nuisance. Section 80 states waste discharge into a public sewer or drain is an offence. Section 94 prohibits depositing waste in water sources of urban sanitary districts.
  8. Forest Resources and Timber Utilization Act 1990 (version as at 1996). Forest Resources and Timber Utilization (Amendment) Act 2000 Section 13(g) allows the Minister to make regulations for the disposal of waste products and the protection of the environment.
  9. Mines and Minerals (Amendment) Act 2014. Under s 31(h)(i), applications for mining must include an environmental assessment with a detailed programme for waste disposal. Under s 80(j) the Minister may make regulations for the disposal of waste products and the protection of the environment
  10. Provincial Government Act 1997 (as at 1997). Schedule 3, made under s 26(3), identifies waste disposal as a function of Provincial Assemblies.
  11. Customs & Excise (Import Duties) (Amendment No.2/Order 2021). Under the Amendment of import duty rates of plastics and articles thereof. In this section VII of the First Schedule the import duty rates of tariff items listed in the Schedule are amended with a $0.50 charged for the tax.

In preparation

Name:
Plastic Regulation on single-use plastic ban for Solomon Islands

Brief description:
This regulation will consider a list of single-use plastic items that are problematic wastes such as shopping bags, plastic straws, PET (<1L), Polystyrofoam takeaway containers and cups, plastic cutleries and other items to be added to the list later

Indicators

No

Measures

Introduce Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Yes
Reduce single-use plastic (shopping bags, straws etc.) by regulations or voluntary measures Yes
Steps taken/ to be taken towards restricting microplastics in personal care products No
Improve waste management recycling system Yes
Are there any human-centric, collective efforts/ actions/ practices for sustainable MPL management Yes
Conduct clean-up activities in rivers/ wetlands/ beaches/ coasts/ coral reefs/ sea floor, involving local communities involving local communities Yes
Taken/to be taken National Level Action and/or Community Level Action on Clean sea initiatives including ghost net retrieval, ocean-bound plastics etc. Yes
Created/creating a value Chain opportunity for abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) Yes
Financial incentives for fishers to promote the collection of end-of-life fishing gears Yes
Encourage/ Incentivize action by private sector companies to reduce/ sustainably manage their plastic waste (e.g., Fishing Gear) through policies/ regulations (e.g., Extended Producer Responsibility) Yes
Do you have/are you building/ are you promoting technology based plastic waste re-use, recycling and recovery opportunities No
Install capturing trap/filter on drainage/river No
Promote innovative solutions (e.g., upcycling fishing equipment, Creating plastic circular economy etc.) No
Boost multi-stakeholder involvement and awareness-raising Yes
Share scientific information and knowledge: R&D and monitoring Yes
Participate in international cooperation through international organizations, multi-national groups, etc. Yes

Measures

Achievements

Prevention and reduction of plastic waste generation

Levy of charges/ taxes for single-use plastic products (e.g. shopping bags, straws)

Names of actions:

  1. Introduction of a plastic levy on imports in January 2022.

Targeted products:

  1. The Plastics that attracts the tax are; single use plastics (shopping bags, cups, spoons plates and takeaways, Styrofoam’s (cups, takeaways), PET (expansible-use for water bottles), Plastics containing PVCs, Plastics use for packaging & Drinking straws

Brief description:

  1. Under the Customs & Excise (Import Duties) (Amendment No.2/Order

No particular change observed

Comments:
The plastic levy was recently introduced in January 2022 and a fee of $0.50 is applied initially but they are looking at increasing the fees to $1.00/kg on the targeted plastic products covered under this amendment no.2, Order 2021 under the customs & excise (import duties) act.
-This measure does not fully address the plastic pollution

Numerical data, if any:
Customs Department have the data on the revenue collections from this plastic levy
Ban on use of single-use plastic products (e.g. shopping bags, straws)

Names of actions:

  1. Development of a Plastic Regulation on single-use plastic ban to be enforced by 1st September 2023

Targeted products:

  1. shopping bags, polystyrofoams, PET, Plastic straws, plastic disposables & cutleries, others to be later added to the list

Brief description:

  1. The Plastic Regulation will cover plastic shopping bags, polystyrofoams, PET, Plastic straws, plastic disposables & cutleries, others to be later added to the list

In preparation
Plastic Regulation on Single-use plastic ban (e..g shopping bags, straws, PET, Polystyrofoams, cutleries)
-The Plastic Regulation is still under development

No particular change observed

Comments:
The regulation is yet to be developed and expected to be in place by 1st September 2023

Actions for encouraging sustainable / circular product design

No

  

Regulations on microplastics

No

  

Government actions on microplastics

No

  

Community actions on microplastics including individual and wider stakeholder involvement (e.g. businesses, coastal community etc.)

No

  

Measures

Achievements
Environmentally sound waste management
Enforcement of proper waste management system

Names of actions:

  1. Tipping fees introduced Licensing of prescribed business
  2. Waste Discharged license from prescribed premises

Brief description:

  1. Tipping fees introduced. In Honiara City, the Honiara City Council have applied tipping fee for different types of wastes. This is covered under the Honiara City Council tipping fee ordinance for the landfill.
  2. Licensing of
    prescribed premises. Under the Environment Act 1998, prescribed premises are required to pay for waste discharge license for disposal of waste from their prescribed premises. Compliance and enforcement is carried out by the Environment & Conservation Division and there are penalties for non-compliance.
  3. Business License under HCC. All business in Honiara City are required to have a business license to operate in Honiara. In terms of waste management, monitoring and enforcement is carried out by the Waste Management & Control Division in collaboration with the Law enforcement department within the Honiara City Council.

We have seen a positive improvement over the last two years

Comments:
It is a requirement that all prescribed premises applied for licenses for waste discharge and must have an EMP in place. The same applies for all business in the city or provinces to have a business license for operation.

Numerical data, if any:
Honiara City Council have record of Business License and Environment & Conservation Division have record of all waste discharge license issued. Ministry of Finance also has records of revenue collection from the waste discharge license fees.
Prevention of littering, illegal dumping and unintentional leakage of waste into the ocean

Names of actions:

  1. Waste discharge license from prescribed premises under the Environment Act 1998
  2. Awareness & Education (including billboard installations in various locations, community and school programmes, radio programmes, social media platforms)
  3. Installation of Litter Boom in Mataniko Sea front by SIPA
  4. Provision of waste bins for domestic shipping industry

Brief description:

  1. Waste discharge license from prescribed premises
  2. Awareness & Education. This is conducted in schools, communities & organizations using various media of communication such as radio programs, brochure/pamphlets, social media, etc. Corporate groups, NGOs and other stakeholders are also conducting awareness and education on proper waste management.
  3. Installation of Litter Boom in Mataniko Sea front by Solomon Islands Ports Authority. This initiative is part of their green ports initiative and this helps to prevent waste from being washed out into the ocean.
  4. Provision of waste bins for domestic shipping industry. The CleanOp initiative sponsored by Chengs Company previously provided waste bins for some local shipping industries for proper waste disposal.

We have seen a positive improvement over the last two years

Comments:
The waste discharge license under the Environment Act 1998 is a core program under the Environment & Conservation Division which prevents prescribed premises from illegal dumping and littering of wastes into the environment. Awareness and education on proper waste management is important to change mindset and behavioral change in the general population and businesses.

Are linkages between marine litter and blue economy being studied by your country? Has your country taken any policy/ legal measures to address these linkages?

Names of actions:
Ocean Policy

No particular change observed

Measures

Achievements
Cleanup of marine plastic litter
Collection of scattered waste on beach

Names of actions:

  1. International Coastal Cleanup Day events
  2. Marine Litter Training & cleanups under SWAP Project
  3. Coastal beach-up during WED and by small organized youth groups & organizations in Honiara and Provinces

Brief description:

  1. ICC Day events undertaken by several community and groups in Temotu Province, Honiara, Guadalcanal, Central and Western Province and data collected during the cleanups
  2. Sustainable Coastlines conducted the training for Solomon Islands under the support of the Sustainable Waste Actions in the Pacific Project and three major cleanups and litter audits will be undertaken under this pilot program in 3 communities in Solomon Islands
  3. Coastal beach-up during WED and by small organized youth groups & organizations in Honiara and Provinces. Adhoc coastal and general clean-up are often done to mark the World Environment Day, World Oceans Day & Coral Triangle Day over the past years. These clean-ups are usually organized by Government, private sector or local groups within the Honiara City or in the provinces which often sees different people from various organizations taking part or leading out in these clean-up events.

No particular change observed

Comments:

  1. Beach cleanup organized by government and other groups no specific data collected during the clean-up except for the volume of waste collected after the clean-up which are often recorded in event reports.
  2. Beach clean up during the ICC day and by the SWAP Project is expected to provide data collection
Removal of plastic litter from the ocean

Names of actions:

  1. Installation of litter boom in front of Honiara Sea front by SIPA

Brief description:
This initiative is part of their green ports initiative and this helps to prevent waste from being washed out into the ocean

No particular change observed

Comments:
More efforts needs to be done

Measures

Achievements

Promotion of innovative solutions

Policy actions for encouraging plastic alternatives (e.g. biodegradable plastics, circular product design – including use of recycled materials or closed-loop recycling)

Names of actions:
Pyrolysis system by Design Technology

Brief description:
With the support from Nufuel in New Zealand, the pyrolysis system was piloted and currently through the Small grants project funding from the UNDP, Design Technology centre is working with 3 Rural Training centres to install and train staff on how to operate the system.

No particular change observed

Comments:
This initiative is an opportunity and a solution for communities to venture into to properly manage wastes in their communities as most of the students enrolled in the Rural training centers comes from various communities and provinces.

Public-private partnerships for creating and implementing innovative solution

Names of actions:

  1. Establishment of SIRWMA
  2. Plastic Wise Gizo women’s group
  3. Strongim bisnis Gizo
  4. Positive change for marine life
  5. Clean Op
  6. Extended Producer Responsibility by Solbrew
  7. Positive Change for Marine Life doing separate household of recyclables ( plastics, aluminum cans, PET)

Brief description:

  1. Establishment of SIRWMA
  2. The Solomon Islands Recycling & Waste Management Association was established in 2019 and launched in 2020. The association was formally established with the mission to strengthen the Private Sector`s Engagement and Support in implementing appropriate and applicable waste management practices in partnership with the government and development partners.
  3. Plastic Wise Gizo women’s group
    A local organized women’s group based in Gizo, Western Province which aims to educate communities on waste management including turning plastic waste into creative handicrafts. Through this initiative, it has enabled the women to advocate for empowering of women to build their capacity not only on waste management but also to look at women’s leadership, etc.
  4. Strongim bisnis Gizo. Under the partnership, Strongim Bisnis aims to help Gizo Plastic Wise increase the amount of plastic collected,
  5. Positive Change for Marine Life is a Non-Profit Organization based in Gizo, Western Province of Solomon Islands. One of their proposed initiatives is to conduct a feasibility study on micro factory

No particular change observed

Comments:
This work by Positive Change for Marine Life for the micro factory is not yet implemented. Funding is sought from the Pacific Ocean Litter Project.

Measures

Achievements

Education and awareness raising

Education system and/or curriculum for encouraging public awareness on MPL issues

If yes, give a brief description of your efforts related to education:

  1. Inclusion of waste management in School curriculum. Waste management have been included in primary, secondary and tertiary level curriculum.

We have seen a positive improvement over the last two years

Comments:
Education and awareness covers waste management in general not specific to marine litter issue but covers improper waste disposal, its impacts, plastic pollution, etc

Awareness-raising campaigns related to MPL

National level:

Names of actions:

  1. Community Waste Management Workshop
  2. Radio Awareness
  3. Social Media posts
  4. Training of staff from different departments
  5. WED/WOD/CTD

Brief description:

  1. Community Waste Management Workshop. These workshops target communities representatives to be trained and educated on waste management and other information that can be disseminated back to the community.
  2. Radio Awareness Program. Ministry of Fisheries under the Cchange program also raised awareness on impacts of waste on marine environment and fisheries resources. Ministry of Environment also has a radio awareness program that is utilized for awareness on different environmental topics.
  3. Social Media posts. Various groups and government departments and organizations often disseminate and share information of events or programs through Facebook and website on activities related to waste management.
  4. Training of staff from different departments. Staff from relevant government, communities been trained on waste management aspects that are often in the country, regionally or internationally through webinars, workshops, short and long-term trainings.
  5. Commemoration of the annual World Environment Day /World Oceans Day/Coral Triangle Day is a platform that the ministry often utilize to raise concerns and issues related to environment in the country and global.

Local level:

Names of actions:

  1. Commemoration of the annual WED/WOD/CTD celebration in have been adopted in provinces

Brief description:

  1. Commemoration of the annual WED/WOD/CTD celebration in have been adopted in provinces and some communities in the provinces as a time to raise concerns and issues.

Local level:

International / Regional level:

Names of actions:

  1. Side event at UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal

Brief description:

  1. Side event at UN Ocean Conference in Portugal
    -Under the UN Ocean Voluntary commitment on marine plastic pollution – SI commits to support the finalization and adoption of a legally binding document on marine plastic pollution

National level:

No particular change observed

Local level:

No particular change observed

International / Regional level:

No particular change observed

Measures

Achievements

Monitoring & Scientific research on marine plastic litter

Actions for encouraging monitoring / scientific research on plastic flows and ocean surface microplastics

Names of actions:

  1. Under the R2R Project & CEFAS program, a report on microplastics was published.

Brief description:

  1. Under the R2R Project & CEFAS, a report on microplastics published. The title of the publication is “Occurrence and abundance of meso and microplastics in sediment, surface waters, and marine biota from the South Pacific region”

No particular change observed

Engagement in international/regional level actions for encouraging monitoring / scientific research on plastic flows and ocean surface microplastics

Names of actions:

  1. Under the R2R project & CEFAS

Brief description:

  1. Under the R2R project & CEFAS a monitoring of the water quality of Honiara coastal seafront was undertaken.

No particular change observed

Challenges

  • Recycling system improvement
  • Proper waste management system (including lack of local capacity)
  • Data collection related to waste in general
  • Data collection related to marine plastic litter
  • Lack of awareness among citizens, business, local governments
  • Lack of financial incentives for waste treatment in general
  • Lack of financial incentives for technology development
  • Project delays due to COVID-19
  • Others (Please specify)
    -Limited human capacity in relevant agencies to implement and support the waste management work in the country
    -Lack of Political Will

Best practices

National level

Coordination between government and other organizations

  • Good communication strategy
  • Networking with partners
  • Establishment of good data/information management system on WM & PC

Local level

  • Western Province Environment Network collaboration between different partners at local level to achieve a common goal

Private sector

  • Strong partnership between different partners, government & private sector is established
  • Pyrolysis System piloted in 3 Rural Training Centres. The system uses PET and LDPE plastics to be incinerated to produce butane cooking gas.

International cooperation

  • Sharing of information between Regional organizations and national government, vice versa.

Futher Information

Website

Reports:

Data on marine litter audits:

Contact Details

Debra Kereseka, Deputy Director Environment, Environment & Conservation Division, Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management & Meteorology, Email:[email protected]

Wendy Beti , Chief Environment Officer, Pollution Control and Waste Management Section, Environment and Conservation Division, Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management & Meteorology, Email: [email protected]

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