Kosrae, FSM, 22 November 2012
- “Our island, our life, our
responsibility”, stands out on the signboard outside the shed at the Kosrae
state port housing a project which has put the smallest state of the Federated
States of Micronesia on the global sustainable development map.
The
Kutkut Mwo Materials Recovery Facility is also a good example of a project funded
by an external agency, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), handed
over to the Kosrae state government, and then leased out to a foreign investor,
the Micronesia Eco Corp.
The
FSM Forum Compact Peer Review stumbled across the project when they visited Kosrae
to consult with the state government from 16 – 20 November.
Maria
Gazia Fanelli, a member of the Kosrae Chamber of Commerce is from Italy. She
came to Kosrae five years ago on a scuba diving trip but since then stayed on
as she found the man of her dreams, Richard Mark Stephens, who runs the Micronesia
Eco Divers. The couple now also operate the Pacific Treelodge Resort and the
Bully Restaurant in Lelu, Kosrae.
Maria
is very compassionate about the environment. She seized the opportunity when
the Kutkut Mwo Materials Recovery Facility was put out on tender by the Kosrae
state government. She now runs the recycling business under the Micronesia Eco
Corp.
The
Kosrae state government imposes a deposit fee on the importation of aluminium
soft drink cans, plastic containers, bottled drinks and car batteries. The deposit
fee collected on these items is put aside to fund the recycling of the items.
Every
month, the Micronesia Eco Corp goes around the communities on Kosrae to collect
the trash and pay the communities for it. In 2011 the Recycling Facility paid
US$85,000 into the community. The year before that the Facility collected 45.6 thousand
cubic feet of trash materials and paid US$86,000 into the community.
The
trash are taken to the project site at a shed in the Kosrae port area where the
cans and plastic containers are flattened and exported together with the
discarded car batteries to Korea, China or Hong Kong.
With
no market yet for the crashed glass Maria explained: “Glass recycling has a strong
impact in the conservation of our environment. Glass is traditionally made from
very high quality sand and there, makes an ideal substitute for sand if it is
recycled corrected.”
When
you are next in Kosrae visit the Bully Restaurant next to the Pacific Treelodge
Resort and you will find that you are walking on a glass aggregated concrete
walkway to the Restaurant built among the mangrove trees.
“This
project contributes strongly to the sustainable development of the island
(Kosrae) with its positive economic, sociological and ecological effects,”
Maria proudly told members of the FSM Forum Compact Peer Review team when they visited
the site of the project.
With
the passion for recycling to save the environment very visible on her face,
Maria explained: “Money paid to the families for collecting the trash creates a
small sub-economy in Kosrae. A cleaner island improves the quality of Kosrae
life, our ocean, mangroves and the land is saved from thousands of cubic feet
of trash.”
According
to Maria, trash collected in Kosrae in one year could fill up to 20 houses.
The
Kosrae Recycling Facility has won global recognition after it was among more
than 800 environmental projects from 105 nations selected as one of three
nominees for the Energy Globe Award in the category Earth, the world award for
sustainability, in 2010.
Maria
has now taken to the schools on Kosrae to educate the new generation in the
state about the benefits of recycling trash. The Facility
is now looking at crashing the hundreds of rusting vehicles occupying the
limited land in the state and exporting it for recycling. The sky seems to be
the limit for this Italian lady that has found her paradise in the northern
Pacific.
The
Kutkut Mwo Materials Recovery Facility in Kosrae is a clear example of how an
eternally funded project requested by a Forum island country is given back to
the government who in turn outsources its operation to the private sector for
the benefit of the community. It’s a win-win situation for the funding agency,
the government, the people, the environment and the private sector.
ENDS.
For
media enquiries, contact Mr Johnson Honimae, the Forum Secretariat’s Media
Officer on phone: 691 9248325 or email:johnsonh@forumsec.org.fj, or
Ms
Maria Gazia Fanelli, Micronesia Eco Corp in Kosrae, FSM on phone: (691)
3707856/3708828 or email: info@kosraetreelodge.com
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