The two simplest ways you can reduce waste in Honiara for a cleaner City is reducing waste at the source. This is done by three simple actions:

• Following the three R’s (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle).
• Separating your rubbish
• Putting your rubbish in a bin and discouraging your Wantoks and friends from littering.

Reduce, reuse and recycle

The three R’s (reduce, reuse and recycle) are the basis of reducing waste in Honiara.

The simplest way to reduce pollution and litter in Honiara is by reducing the amount of waste we create.

This can be done by buying products with less packaging, using water from home instead of spending your money to buy a new bottle of water every day, or by following the second principle which is reusing.

Reusing can be done in many ways, such as reusing a plastic bag or buying a basket to use every time you go to the market. You can reuse the same water bottle every day.

The last one is recycling. Instead of using a material once and then disposing it in the dump, we can get those materials like plastic, glass or metal – recycled to be used again.

Recycling isn’t just good for the environment and Honiara, but it also can make you money if you sell your old cans and other recyclable materials to recyclers.

How to separate your rubbish

Separating your rubbish is done by:

• Organic plant waste goes into compost, which decomposes into quality soil for your garden.
• Recyclable waste such as plastic bottles, metal cans or glass bottles are sent to be recycled. These can be sold to some dealers for a profit.
• Other general waste is disposed into your waste bin outside your house for Council collection.

The combination of these three actions will greatly reduce demand on Honiara City Council’s waste collection, speeding up our services, create money for your family and good soil for your garden; and help create a cleaner healthier Honiara.

The simplest way to start is separating what can rot (plant waste) from what cannot rot. Have a bin for normal waste and second bin for plant waste, and put your plant waste into compost.

Making a compost

Organic waste in the 2011 Audit took up over 50% of waste disposed at the Ranadi Landfill. This organic waste takes up space in our waste collection and slows down the collection of rubbish from your home.

Compost is a simple and easy way to reduce waste in Honiara, produce good quality soil for your garden and help speed up the waste collection of Honiara City Council.

Compost is simply an outdoor container of some form that breaks down organic (rotting food or plant) waste in good quality soil. It’s separating what can rot and what cannot.

Recycling in Honiara

We do not have recycling facilities so we just return waste to the dealers of recyclable waste such as aluminium cans, bottles or scrap metals for further recycling overseas.

Disposing of general waste

Disposing of general waste is simple. Under the Honiara Litter Ordinance (2009) each house is required to provide a waste bin (receptacle) for the collection of rubbish.

Simply get a waste bin from any oil company or a hardware store or for $30.00 from the Council’s Environmental Health Division (29295). Then dispose of your rubbish there for pick up from the Council.

Read our guide for getting a waste bin here – click here and read our guide for using the Ranadi Landfill here – click here.

Role modelling good behaviour

The best thing you can do for a cleaner Honiara is by being a role model. By acting correctly, disposing of waste properly and teaching our children and others about cleanliness; we can have a cleaner and healthier Honiara.

For more information on how you can create a cleaner Honiara, contact the Environmental Health Division at 28295.