Labasa College has become the first school in Fiji’s Northern Division to roll out the Ministry of Environment’s school waste management program, a pilot initiative the Environment Minister says is aimed at building lifelong habits of environmental responsibility among students and their families.
Environment Minister Lynda Tabuya, speaking at the launch at the school in central Labasa, said the initiative moves environmental action from policy into classrooms and communities. “Labasa College is the first school in the Northern Division to take this step, and that is something to be proud of,” she said, adding the program is “not just about putting bins in schools. It is about building habits that will last a lifetime.” Tabuya warned that improper waste disposal has long-term consequences for public health and marine life, noting that rubbish thrown into drains and rivers eventually reaches the ocean and affects food sources.
The school was selected for the pilot because of its size and central location in Labasa. Tabuya pointed out the wider reach of the programme through students’ families: “If we include your families, you are representing more than 2000 people in this room.” The ministry says the initiative will include activities focused on waste separation and recycling awareness, and form part of ongoing environmental education in the school curriculum.
Authorities presented the Labasa College scheme as the latest, grassroots strand of a broader national push to tackle Fiji’s waste problems. The program complements other measures already under way, including a national drive to train Litter Prevention Officers to strengthen enforcement of litter laws and recent investments in municipal waste collection capacity. Officials have increasingly linked poor waste management to flooding, fires at landfills and public health concerns — problems Tabuya referenced when framing the school work as both an environmental and a dignity and health issue. “Rubbish is not just an environmental issue. It is a health issue and a dignity issue,” she said.
Ministry officials said the school pilot is designed to be replicable across other Northern schools, with a focus on hands-on activities that teach students how to separate organic and recyclable waste and how to reduce single-use plastics. No timetable was given yet for expansion, but the ministry signalled that lessons from Labasa College will inform roll-out plans elsewhere in the division.
Community leaders and school administrators described the launch as timely, given recent high-profile incidents of illegal dumping and landfill fires that have heightened public concern about waste management nationwide. By placing students at the centre of behaviour change, the ministry is betting that children can help shift household and community practices — a strategy its ministers argued could reduce pressure on drains, waterways and municipal services over the longer term.
Officials said monitoring and evaluation will follow to track uptake of separation and recycling practices at the school and in students’ homes. If successful, the Labasa College pilot would provide a model for integrating practical waste management training into school programmes across Fiji.