Overview:
Palau lawmakers are considering an expansion of the national recycling program via Senate Bill 12-86. The proposed legislation broadens the deposit-refund system to include food cans, fuel and oil containers, and cleaning product packaging with a 10-cent deposit fee, aiming to reduce landfill waste and build on Palau's environmental leadership.
By: Eoghan Olkeriil Ngirudelsang
NGERULMUD, Palau — Palau lawmakers are considering expanding the nation’s recycling program beyond beverage containers to include food cans, fuel and oil containers, and packaging for cleaning products, with a proposed 10-cent deposit fee on each eligible container.
Senate Bill 12-86, introduced Tuesday by Sen. Brian Melairei on the first day of the Senate’s eighth regular session, seeks to bring more recyclable materials into the existing deposit-refund system instead of sending them to the landfill.
The bill would expand the program to cover individual containers smaller than 5 gallons made of glass, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic or metal. It would also require the program to accept plastic and metal outboard motor fuel containers of any size.
“Palau’s current recycling program only redeems beverage containers,” Melairei said, explaining the need to broaden the system.
Under the proposal, manufacturers and importers would pay a 10-cent deposit fee for each eligible container into a Recycling Fund. The fee would be collected only once per container, with collection beginning immediately after the bill becomes law.
The redemption payment to consumers would remain at 5 cents per container, the same rate currently paid for beverage containers. Consumers could return eligible containers to redemption centers established by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and Industries, which would oversee the expanded program.
The bill would give the government six months after enactment to secure funding before beginning the expanded recycling operations.
The rollout would take place in stages over five years. During the first year, the program would begin accepting metal containers of up to 5 gallons and outboard motor fuel containers of any size. Plastic and other eligible containers would be added in later phases, with the program expected to become fully operational by the fifth year.
Melairei said Palau’s recycling program has served as a model for other Pacific island nations, inspiring similar initiatives in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Samoa and Tonga.
Senators question whether the redemption rate is enough
During the session, Sen. Whipps raised the possibility of increasing the redemption rate from 10 cents to 15 cents to help cover the costs of managing Palau’s landfill and collecting waste from Babeldaob.
Melairei said the government currently lacks an evaluation to determine whether the existing redemption rate is sufficient to cover program costs.
Under Section 4 of the proposed bill, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and Industries would conduct an evaluation during the program’s second and third years.
If enacted, the proposal would expand the range of containers eligible for recycling and establish a phased approach to bringing more materials into Palau’s deposit-refund system.