CLiP Vanuatu Land Waste Audits and Interviews

notPlanned

The Commonwealth Litter Project (CLiP) supported Solomon Islands to take action on plastics entering the oceans. Currently 80% of marine litter is estimates to be originated on land and Cefas contracted Asia Pacific Waste Consultants to assess the land waste production rates and waste management performances. The sample collection was limited by the ease of collection of samples, the ability to transport samples, as well as the presence and absence of collection systems Commercial premises were divided into four major categories. The methodology remained the same for both households and commercial premises. Domestic waste samples were collected household by household to determine the waste generation and disposal rate per household. In areas with house-to-house collection system, each household was approached, and its rubbish bags/bins ready for disposal were requested just before it was being picked up by the waste trucks. In areas where waste bags are accumulated at collection points, some bags were collected at the time of disposal, while others were collected randomly from the pile or from the collection truck. Interviews were carried out at the households or commercial premises where a sample had been taken the previous day. In case of bags randomly picked up from collection point, an equal amount of interviews was carried out in the community. In areas with no collection system, each household was provided with a bag to use to dispose of their waste. Bags were retrieved after three days. Villagers were told not to dispose of any bulky waste or problem waste that they have been having trouble disposing of into the black bags. An interview was conducted with the member of the household depositing the bag. Interviews were conducted with all households where waste was collected. Most of the interviewing was undertaken in the evenings and early mornings or weekends. Local staff members were trained to undertake the interview. 99% of the households took part in the interview. All waste was collected in labelled plastic bags that were individually opened to sort their contents into categories. Separated materials were weighed on a set of electronic scales. Beverage containers were stored and counted separately. Containers were sorted by size, material (e.g. plastic, aluminium) and product type (e.g. milk, juice). Further, all plastic bags were sorted into different types of bags and all containers were further sorted by size, material type and product type. Cigarette butts, coffee cups and takeaway containers were also segregated. Data quality was checked at several stages by Asia Pacific Waste Consultants before submission of the final version of the dataset. Data were checked during entering for completeness and adjust possible errors. Anomalies were also investigated.