PAGE, in partnership with the Ministry of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, continues its collaboration with Mauritius to find appropriate solutions to improve the management of industrial waste and promote circular economy and industrial symbiosis practices on the island.
On February 4, 2020, the kick-off meeting of a new project on industrial waste management was held at the National Co-operative College in Terre Rouge. This initiative, jointly developed by PAGE and the Ministry of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, in collaboration with Business Mauritius, aims to understand better the cost of the management of industrial waste. This activity will be done by assessing, over the first half of 2020, the cost of the management of industrial waste of all the actors involved in the value chain, from companies to local authorities and recyclers. The overall goal is to give the Government of Mauritius a precise picture of the cost of managing industrial waste in order to define and develop tools for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling, which will help reduce the amount of waste going to landfills.
Some 70 participants, representing local and national authorities, and industrial companies of all sizes, attended the workshop. The Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, Mr. Soomilduth Bholah, the UN Resident Coordinator, Ms. Christine Umutoni, and the Business Mauritius CEO, Mr. Kevin Ramkaloan were also present. Participants discussed existing international best practices for industrial waste management, as well as the scope, methodology and goals of the project. The meeting included a capacity building exercise on the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) concept too, a model that the government of Mauritius is closely considering.
The relevance of the costs definition for both the private and public sectors has been in particular debated with all the waste management actors, as has been the need to strengthen the legislative and institutional frameworks. Discussions during the meeting revealed that the industrial sector in Mauritius is well aware of the environmental challenges represented by industrial waste management, and of the need to build more sustainable production processes. All participants, and in particular those representing the companies, expressed their readiness to undertake innovative steps to increase the recovery of materials and of energy from industrial waste. The insular condition of Mauritius and of its economy was also examined, underlining the need to develop tailored technical and organizational schemes.
In 2016 and 2017, PAGE already assisted Mauritius in carrying out a first assessment of the management of industrial waste in the country. This assessment resulted in the identification of new opportunities for the reduction, reuse and recycling of industrial waste. At the same time, it also addressed the effectiveness of Mauritius’ legislative and institutional frameworks for waste management and environment protection. This current activity on the cost assessment of industrial waste, evolved as a follow up to the previous assessment.
To know more about this event, visit the website of the government of Mauritius.
