Vanuatu seeks waste management assistance from NZ organizations.
Are you keen to help your Pacific neighbours sort out their waste problems?
Through Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA), two New Zealand waste management volunteers have been working with the Luganville Municipal Council in Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu to help improve the Municipals waste management planning, waste collection and waste disposal practices. Sean Toland from GHD’s Auckland Office started in 2013 and Mary O’Reilly, previously at Christchurch City Council, started in 2011.
To date they have been very successful. The Samna Province and Luganville Municipality Waste Management Plan 2013-2016 was adopted and a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to promote cooperation between the Province and the Municipality on the provision of waste management services beyond the municipal boundary. A number of recycling initiatives have been introduced and major improvements in the operation and management of the open dump site have been put in place.
The next phase of the project is selecting a suitable site for a new landfill and developing a means to fund the design and construction phases, as well as closing the open dump site. The current site is very close to the airport and a runway extension planned for 2017 will increase its proximity.
This is where we would like to put a call out to any companies or professionals that may be interested in partnering with VSA and Luganville Municipal Council to assist them through this next important stage in their waste management planning.
There are a number of ways the partnership could work, but the initial focus will be on locating a site and conducting a site investigation which will require someone with Geotechnical / Environmental experience. The design and construction phase may require a full time Waste Management Engineer and of course any sort of financial support or dollar for dollar partnership would ensure that this project gets off the ground and is completed within a reasonable timeframe. Of course, reasonable timeframes are relative when it comes to working in Vanuatu!
If any of this appeals to you or you know of anyone who may be an ideal candidate for this, please get in touch with Sean: sean.toland@ghd.com or Mary maryeoreilly@gmail.com.
For more information on volunteering with VSA visit www.vsa.org.nz
For more information on progress of this project visit Facebook: Luganville Waste Management.
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