CNMI sets ‘zero waste’ goal for solid waste management

Gov. Arnold Palacios signs the CNMI Zero Waste Week proclamation at the CNMI Zero Waste Visioning Kickoff last March 30 at Kensington Hotel Saipan. (CHRYSTAL MARINO)

A visiting group of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials from Region 9, led by Region 9 administrator Martha Guzman, witnessed the CNMI kick off its zero-waste visioning meeting last March 30, at Kensington Hotel Saipan’s Queen’s Hall in Marpi, which outlined the steps the CNMI need to make to achieve “zero waste.”

At the same occasion, Gov. Arnold Palacios and Lt Gov. David M. Apatang signed a proclamation designating March 27, 2023, to April 2, 2023 as CNMI Zero Waste Week, as part of efforts to improve and make waste disposal in the CNMI more efficient.

Palacios and Apatang were joined at the kickoff meeting by Office of Planning and Development’s acting director Christopher Conception, lawmakers, Saipan Mayor Ramon “RB” Camacho, Tinian Mayor Edwin P. Aldan, and other OPD and Cabinet members.

The proclamation states that the Commonwealth is committed to taking the necessary action and expanding efforts to ensure wise resource use and combating climate change by reducing reusing and recycling waste, “which will create more jobs for our people and unlock economic development opportunities here in our island.”

Since 2020 the CNMI’s Interisland Solid Waste Management Task Force, supported by the EPA, aims to have a comprehensive integrated solid waste management plan that includes “zero waste” initiatives, and should be ready for incorporation into the next updated version of the CNMI’s Comprehensive Sustainable Development Plan on or before 2025.

It was said that Tinian is already leading efforts to assess and implement zero waste management opportunities in order protect their environment and population and support growth.

Palacios encouraged members of the community to take part in efforts to achieve zero waste in the Commonwealth. “…This week we affirm or commitment to working toward more sustainable production consumption and disposal practices and create a healthier and cleaner CNMI,” said Palacios

The CNMI’s Interisland Solid Waste Management Task Force, which hosted the event, is a combination of agencies in the CNMI including the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality, Department of Public Works, offices of the mayors in Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, Department of Public Works and the Office of Planning and Development.