WRITTEN BY PALLAVI AND KARLIJN
ON THE SOUTH PACIFIC EXPEDITION FROM TONGATAPU TO VAVA’U
After settling in on the boat we went out to do our first science of the trip.
Today we were working in land in Nuku’alofa.
We were split into 3 survey groups: for convenience stores, grocery stores and food vendors. We are trying to understand what packaging these stores and vendors use, to link it back to the pollution we might find in the ocean, beaches and other places on the islands.
After surveying a few food vendors, we came across a special vendor called Weta Coffee Tonga.
Photo credit: Karlijn Sibbel
Mitna who manages this store was very aware of the challenges with plastic pollution and single-use plastic packaging in particular, and has been making a concerted effort to transition to alternative solutions. She now sells their delicious baked goods (our personal favourite was the chunky chocolate chip cookie) in paper bags and uncoated cardboard trays, and provides paper straws for cold drinks served in bioplastic cups made from PLA. She noted that her paper coffee cups still contain traditional plastic on the inside, something she hasn’t yet found an alternative for.
Photo credit: Karlijn Sibbel
She told us that sourcing these alternative solutions is a humongous task and more expensive than sourcing the widely available traditional plastic cups. These alternatives are not sold on the island so she has to import them herself from New Zealand and when we spoke to her, she had been waiting for a delayed delivery for 2 months.
Photo credit: Karlijn Sibbel
Although there are no industrial composting facilities on the island that will compost the PLA cold cups (bioplastic) – which needs special elevated temperatures to break down – she is still making the most effort she can to move away from fossil based plastics. Determined to make a difference.
It was very interesting and inspiring to learn about her experiences and her passion for tackling plastic pollution in Tonga.
