{"id":380943,"date":"2022-12-05T06:06:46","date_gmt":"2022-12-04T20:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=380943"},"modified":"2022-12-05T06:06:46","modified_gmt":"2022-12-04T20:06:46","slug":"epa-lauds-recycling-zero-waste-efforts-by-pacific-islands-partners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/epa-lauds-recycling-zero-waste-efforts-by-pacific-islands-partners\/","title":{"rendered":"EPA lauds recycling, zero waste efforts by Pacific Islands partners"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Over the last year, 2,000 lbs of electronic waste from American Samoa\u2019s Department of Education was diverted from landfills and collected for recycling. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SAN FRANCISCO\u2014As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency celebrated\u00a0America Recycles Day\u00a0and marked the anniversary of the agency\u2019s\u00a0national recycling strategy\u00a0recently, EPA\u2019s territorial partners in the Pacific Islands are making significant progress to improve waste reduction and recycling.<\/p>\n

\u201cEPA is proud to recognize zero waste achievements in American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. These efforts are making real improvements in how island communities manage their waste and protect the environment,\u201d\u00a0said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman.\u00a0\u201cThese local programs across the Pacific Islands protect communities from pollution by reducing waste going to landfills and reduce methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas warming the earth.<\/p>\n

American Samoa:\u00a0Over the last year, 2,000 lbs of electronic waste from the local Department of Education was diverted from landfills and collected for recycling. A youth education program on waste reduction and management was featured in American Samoa EPA\u2019s \u201cLumana\u2019i Initiative,\u201d a weeklong environmental online classroom for high school students across the island.<\/p>\n

\u201cSustainable waste management is a multifaceted approach in which recycling is a critical component that focuses on resource recovery and reuse\u2014an approach appropriate for our island home,\u201d\u00a0said William Sili, acting director, American Samoa environmental Protection Agency.<\/p>\n

Guam:\u00a0The territory established a $400,000 grant program for waste reduction and zero waste initiatives in Guam and is dedicating up to 10% of the territory\u2019s recycling revolving fund for Guam EPA\u2019s recycling and zero waste initiatives. Guam EPA\u2019s abandoned derelict vessel removal group brought local and federal government agencies together to survey, remove and recycle off-island 11 abandoned vessels weighing over 60 tons.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur administration celebrates America Recycles Day every day by continuing to pay special attention to climate resiliency, sustainability and zero waste with the overarching goal of environmental protection in mind,\u201d\u00a0said Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero.\u00a0\u201cLocal programs such as Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio\u2019s Islandwide Beautification Task Force, the Mayors\u2019 Council of Guam Islandwide Environmental Cleanup Program, the Guam Green Growth Circular Economy Makerspace and Innovation Hub, and Guam EPA\u2019s Abandoned Derelict Vessel Removal have shown us that diversification in recycling provides us with great opportunities highlight the natural beauty of Guam, showcasing it to those who cross our shores and to those who call Guam home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands:\u00a0Tinian established a municipal recycling program, provided recycling bins to Tinian Jr.\/Sr. High School\u2019s junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and announced plans to end the use of single-use plastics on Tinian. The Sinapalo Elementary School hosted CNMI\u2019s recycling coordinator to educate students about recycling and the benefits of waste reduction.<\/p>\n

Gove. Ralph DLG Torres\u00a0held a CNMI Recycles Week ceremony\u00a0to encourage the CNMI community\u00a0to \u201cacknowledge and take part in the efforts to combat climate change, promote sustainable living, and protect our environment for our children and the future generations of our great Commonwealth.\u201d<\/p>\n

On America Recycles Day this year, EPA\u00a0announced the availability of $100 million in grants for recycling infrastructure and recycling education and outreach projects across the country. EPA has published two requests for applications for new\u00a0recycling infrastructure grants\u00a0and\u00a0education and outreach grants\u00a0totaling $70 million. EPA also announced a new grant program for states and territories totaling $30 million. (PR)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SAN FRANCISCO\u2014As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency celebrated\u00a0America Recycles Day\u00a0and marked the anniversary of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":380945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[352,389],"class_list":["post-380943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-epa","tag-pacific-islands"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}