| Law Summary | THE SPECIAL FUND (WASTE MATERIALS RECOVERY) ACT 2004 [1] |
| Date Implemented | 2/3/2005 |
| Containers Covered |
|
| Beverages Covered |
|
| Beverages Not Covered |
|
| Refundable Deposit |
5¢ AUD per container (only 4¢ AUD is returned to the consumer) [2] |
| Fees and Taxes |
None |
| Unclaimed Deposits |
Unredeemed deposits remaining in the Special Fund to provide capital for equipment replacement over time. The Act allows the Special Fund to use excess funds for waste management. 10% of levy moneys are retained to fund the scheme and provide recycling infrastructure. [3] |
| Program Success |
|
Details
Colloquially known as the "Kaoki Mange" (return rubbish) system, Kiribati's deposit program is managed by the private organization The Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific Kiribati (FSPK). It began as a pilot project of the United Nations Development Programme.The program also encompassed a deposit-based ($5 AUD) lead-acid battery recycling program and a car recycling program, plus initiatives to reduce organic and landfill waste. [4]
At the time of return, consumers only receive 4¢ AUD from the 5¢ AUD deposit. The extra cent is kept to cover operational costs by the waste recovery operators, as well as to cover the costs of lower-value materials. Rather than going straight to waste dumps, the government exports returned materials off of the island for processing, due to the limited amount of space. Although no exact percentages are known, by 2018, the program saw over 200 tons of aluminum cans and 90 tons of PET bottles recycled since its inception. [5]
Footnotes
[1] "Special Fund (Waste Material Recovery) Act 2004." Republic of Kiribati, 2004. PDF.
[2] "Global Deposit Book 2020: An Overview of Deposit Systems for One-Way Beverage Containers." Reloop Inc. December 15, 2020.
[3] Ibid.
[4] "Kaoki Mange! Annual Report 2005." FSP Kiribati. 2006.
[5] "Kiribati “Kaoki Maange” System, Over A Decade Of Operation." Woonton, Nanette. Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme. August 21, 2018.
Last Updated on May 22, 2023.