The Government of Japan provided a new mobile shredder machine worth US$71,000.00 to Nadi Town Council through its Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) Programme to promote green waste minimisation and recycling in Nadi Town.

The Charge d’ Affaires of the Embassy of Japan, Mr. Takeshi Tanabe, represented the Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of the Fiji Islands, H.E. Yutaka Yoshizawa, to sign grant contract with Mr. Terrence O’Neill, the Chief Executive Officer of Nadi Town Council, to formalise Japan’s funding assistance to this project. The signing ceremony was hosted by the Embassy of Japan in its conference room on level 2 of Dominion House, at 3.00 p.m. on Thursday 26th August, 2010.

The main objective of this funding is to assist the Nadi Town Council to better manage the environment of Nadi Town, which serves as an administrative and commercial centre for approximately 60,000 people. The town also serves as the main entrance of the Fiji Islands and main commercial centre for the tourism industry in Fiji and the Pacific. The shredding machine concept may be new to Fiji but has been an ongoing practice around Nadi and Lautoka town boundaries since the launch of Waste Minimisation and Recycling Promotion Project funded by JICA in October 2008. The new shredding machine is in addition to the assistance provided by JICA in 2008 and will enable Nadi Town Council to shred green waste from parks, street pruning, residents etc into chips which could be used either for mulching public gardens and thereby becoming less dependent on chemicals or sold to private companies as fuel for boiler.

Japan’s assistance to this project indicates its commitment to promote clean, safe and beautiful environment for the people of Fiji Islands and is in line with its Official Development Assistance (ODA) policy of promoting development at the grassroots level. The GGP programme is specifically designed to address basic human needs, which include sanitary environment, water supply, health, basic education, vocational training, and rural infrastructure.  It is hoped that this assistance will help further strengthen the friendly ties currently enjoyed by the governments and the peoples of Japan and the Fiji Islands.