What a load of rubbish! Solomon Islands marks World Environment Day 2021 with nine tonne litter clean-up

Honiara, Solomon Islands – Once again taking an environmental front foot in the Solomon Islands, Tourism Solomon’s ‘Green team’ has successfully marked World Environment Day 2021 joining with an ‘army’ of 150 volunteers to successfully collect more than collect nine tonnes of roadside rubbish.

Targeting the area between the Lunga River Bridge and Henderson International Airport, the ‘volunteer army’ consisted of representatives from the national tourist office, Solomon Airlines, the Ministry of Communication & Aviation and the Don Bosco Institute.

Paying tribute to the volunteers, and especially the huge number of youngsters from Don Bosco Institute who stepped up to help, Tourism Solomons CEO, Josefa ‘Jo’ Tuamoto said the huge effort was very much in keeping with the theme for this year’s World  Environment Day – ‘Reimagine Recreate Restore’.

“The reality is that we should not need a World Environment Day as an excuse to clean up our own backyard – this is something that needs to happen all the time and I really hope that all Solomon Islanders will sit up and take notice of what we have achieved today,” he said.

“We need to remember it’s not just for us – this is for everyone so it was extremely gratifying to see some many young people from the Don Brasco Institute joining in today.

“Their participation was huge in terms of bringing more awareness to and taking this critical environmental sustainability concept further – these youngsters represent the future so even more reason for all of us to work together to look after our country and not only for them, but for future generations to come.

“And let’s not forget, from the perspective of tourism, a clean, tidy and environmentally-aware Solomon Islands makes us a more attractive prospect for international visitors.

“To borrow the words of American writer Wendell Berry, “The Earth is what we all have in common” so it is inherent on all of us to  do our utmost to preserve what we have now.

“While today may have been just a small step in the overall process, we need to remember that from the smallest of things, mighty things grow and today was a good start.

Pictured, the World Environment Day ‘Volunteer Army’ at Henderson International Airport.