Waste to wealth

Solomon Islands

Waste to Wealth is a community-led circular economy program replicated from India to the Solomon Islands, addressing waste at source and at sea while protecting the Coral Triangle and creating livelihoods for marginalised coastal communities.

Waste Collection Service (WCS)

Since 2021, our community-run Waste Collection Service (WCS) has provided the Western Province with its first consistent, multi-stream circular waste management system — preventing waste from reaching the ocean while creating paid local employment.

Waste is collected weekly across five waste streams and processed at our Waste Recovery Centre on Gizo Island, where materials are sorted, recycled, upcycled or responsibly diverted from landfill and open burning.

IMPACT TO DATE

80 households and businesses serviced weekly
7+ tonnes of waste diverted from land and sea
including ~500 kg of hard and soft plastics
5 waste streams collected and processed weekly
plastics, aluminium, paper/cardboard, organics, general waste
Waste Recovery Centre established on Gizo Island
enabling safe transport, sorting and storage
Plastic upcycling equipment installed
(press and mould systems producing market-ready products)
20+ community beach and underwater clean-ups delivered
removing 5+ tonnes of marine waste
Landfill pressure and open burning reduced
in an already at-capacity waste system
35 local jobs created for women and youth

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Leave No Trace (LNT)

Our Leave No Trace Campaign in the Solomon Islands is helping transition the Gizo Market (the main trading and shopping hub on Gizo Island) to become 100% plastic-free by late 2024, in collaboration with our partners at the Western Provincial Government, Gizo Town Council, and Plastic Wise Gizo.

IMPACT TO DATE

Transitioned the entire Gizo Marketplace to single-use plastic free alternatives
Stopped >50,000 single-use plastic and polystyrene items from entering supply chains and subsequently ending being burned or dumped in the ocean every year.
Developed a range of engagement and outreach programs through educational signage, local radio, community and business workshops, as well as at the market itself, hosting regular stalls that survey the community, and showcase the alternative products available.
Explored opportunities for locally manufactured products through our target communities, creating more opportunities for meaningful employment.

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ORGANIC COMPOSTING PROGRAM

Launched in 2025, our organic composting program transforms food and green waste into nutrient-rich compost — restoring degraded soils, improving food security and creating women-led livelihoods across the Solomon Islands.

Building on our Waste Collection Service, organic waste is processed locally and returned to communities as a valuable resource. Compost supports home gardens and local farmers to grow healthy fruit and vegetables, reducing reliance on imported, chemical-based and costly fertilisers, with sales reinvested back into the program to sustain jobs and operations.

Since launching, the program has seen strong interest from neighbouring islands, responding to poor soil quality and the high cost of imported inputs. The model shows clear potential for replication as a climate-resilient, community-led solution.