NES Launches ‘Taau Taku Tita’ 2012 Campaign

The National Environment Service (NES) launched its campaign for 2012 on Friday. Held at the Rarotonga Waste Facility, the theme is, fittingly, ‘Taau Taku Tita – Cook Islands Taking Action Against Waste’. Speakers at the launch included the Prime Minister Hon. Henry Puna, Minister of Health Hon. Nandi Glassie and Minister of Infrastructure and Planning Hon. Teariki Heather.
Deyna Marsh of NES says that the theme for the next 12 months was chosen because the Cook Islands is a member of SPREP, who have declared 2012 as the ‘Clean Pacific’ campaign. Marsh says the ‘Taau Taku Tita’ campaign was a way for the Cook Islands to tie in with this theme, whilst still addressing the priorities of the government. “The slogan actually came from a successful waste campaign [from] early in the 1990’s. So we thought it would be a really good campaign to revive.”
Marsh also highlighted the focus in the campaign to form partnerships with ministries, private sector and community groups. “We’ve worked with them in the past so this is our time to really take action and come together a bit more closely.” She says that under the National Sustainable Development Plan, NES has been recognised as the organisation to lead ‘waste awareness’ campaigning. For this reason NES lead the development of the campaign strategy. Marsh stressed the importance of the partnership with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning, “Because they’re the ones that look after the landfill and the recycling centre.” She added that partnerships with those in the private sector that run their own programs, such as CITC and Recycle Cook Islands, were also of importance to the strategy. “So it was only best that we get together and share one same message. Get together and do it together for the sake of our island.”
The campaign strategy outlined will mainly focus on awareness raising, but this is in the hope that it leads to the public and private sector taking, “a lot more concrete actions.” Marsh cited a couple of examples of possible actions including offering incentives for recycling, more community recycling facilities and an increase in frequency in ‘e-waste’ days.
John Wichman runs Recycle Cook Islands, which has been in the resource recovery business since 2004. They began their initial recycling programme with Foodland, recycling cardboard boxes. Now Recycle Cook Islands is primarily engaged in hazardous waste removal. Wichman says that hazardous waste is defined as anything that cannot go to the landfill. He added that the hazardous waste is often large and mainly involves products made of steel or asbestos. “We’ve been taking over that waste treatment because government hasn’t been able to facilitate that.” Recycle Cook Islands will be one of the main partners in the Taau Taku Tita campaign.
Wichman observed that in his opinion the government have done a good job in the landfill recovery process but he added that in terms of the relative investment and what is being achieved, it is yet to be seen how effective that will be. “These projects, they haven’t led to sustainable industry – making the business sustainable. It is proven that you do need a hazardous waste company in the infrastructure and I think if you read the manuals, it’s been looked at as an afterthought. With the zero waste targets for hazardous waste –it should be at the front end and will actually reduce the amount going to landfill and defer further investment in landfill. And who knows whether there’s going to be land available for another landfill in the future!”
Wichman says that those within the private sector and the wider community need to assist government in trying to work within the constraints that they have in terms of their policies. “To actually get us to walk beside them and not behind them. It needs more integration.” According to Wichman, this integration is one of the objectives within the regional strategic plan.
Wichman also expressed that he thought government should look at working closely with Recycle Cook Islands in addressing the total recycling needs for the Cook Islands. “I think they’ve got the legislative power – what they need to is to bring us in. As an importer for 30 years, we can do all that because we have the relationships and the partnerships expanding over the supply chain. And really, recycling the way we do it is just a reverse supply chain – it’s simple.”
The Taau Taku Tita campaign will work closely with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning as well as the Ministry of Health, and more information on the campaign can be found on the NES web site www.environment.org.ck.

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