Details

A container deposit system for the country of Fiji, to be developed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), was approved by the Fiji government, and an agreement was signed on April 1, 2010. The UNDP assisted Kiribati and Kosrae in Micronesia in establishing their container deposit systems.

According to research by the UNDP, the system would work best if operated by the local beverage companies and overseen by a governmental Managing Agency.

At last news, a deposit price had not been decided, but would be negotiated by the beverage industry.

UNDP Preparatory Assistance Program

A report on the preparatory assistance program [pdf,228kb] run by the UNDP from May to September of 2008, presented the following information:[a]

• The refund value need not be the full value of the deposit, but just "large enough to encourage a high return rate of containers."
• Recycling center operators may receive handling fees--in the example, the handling fee is the difference between the deposit and refund amounts.
• Unredeemed deposits should be held in a Recycling Fund, which should be designated only for handling fee payments and equipment replacement.

A pilot study was planned for the Suva City Council (SCC) area. We have not been able to find results of this study.

Footnotes

[a] Source: United Nations Development Program. United Nations Development Programme, Country: Fiji, Project Document. 2008. http://www.undp.org.fj/images/stories/docs/fiji%20swm%20prodoc_public.pdf p.6