As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) celebrated America Recycles Day and released the National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution, EPA’s partners in the Pacific Islands continued to make significant progress in reducing waste and advancing disaster resilience.
“EPA is proud to recognize zero waste and resilience achievements in American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam. The Pacific Islands continue to develop innovative, community-centered models to protect the environment,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “Local programs across the Pacific Islands are preventing plastic pollution and reducing waste in landfills, waterways and the ocean while lowering methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas warming the earth.”
American Samoa enacted an enforceable Polystyrene Foam Container Ban restricting the import and distribution of polystyrene food containers. Fifty-six villages collected and removed 13,215 pounds of litter in 2024 as Vailoa Village earned the $10,000 top prize in the Village Beautification Competition and 362,075 pounds of lead acid auto batteries were recycled since April 2023.
American Samoa EPA also organized a tour of the UNICOR Terminal Island Electronics Recycling Center, a certified electronics recycler in California, to support safe American Samoa electronic waste recycling.
“Through effective policy making and collective action of the community, American Samoa is making significant strides towards environmental sustainability – from banning hard-to-manage products to promoting cleanup and recycling for a cleaner future for the island territory,” said Fa‘amamata Meredith, Solid Waste Branch Manager, American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency.
Photo: Loaded pallets of lead-acid batteries in Am Samoa ready for off-island recycling
