Minister for Local Government Premila Kumar says that the Suva City Council now has two full-time staff who conduct daily picking of litter and heavy debris along the foreshore.
Kumar says this has become a daily routine given that litter objects such as PET bottles, paper and glass are washed to the foreshore area every day during high tide.
The Minister says that other municipal councils are also working towards managing waste in their communities and raise awareness on waste management.
She also highlighted that the Suva City Council incurs $2.28 million on solid waste management operations annually.
Kumar says the annual operation cost is funded through general rates collected where 12% of the general rates go towards solid waste management alone.
She says through garbage fee, the Suva City Council collects around $328,189 which does not cover the landfill gate fee or tripping fee.
Kumar further adds that around $600,000 is spent annually for tipping around 25,000 tonnes of city waste at the Naboro Landfill.
