With the recent passage of RPPL No. 10-14, the Plastic Use Reduction Act, the Palau Visitors Authority (PVA) has been inspired to take measures to reduce its plastic use by declaring PVA a plastic-free organization. Furthermore, PVA is now accepting the Plastic Waste Challenge and encouraging the tourism industry, as well as other government and non-government organizations to do the same.
The Plastic Waste Challenge began in April 2017 with tourism professionals including Larissa Gerlach of Reisefieber, Judith Hoppe of Tourism Unlimited, Christoph Hoppe of Reise-Inspirationen, and Yumie Morishita of the Palau Pacific Resort. This group launched the Challenge to raise global awareness about the negative consequences of plastic use in our daily lives as well as what happens when it is not disposed of or recycled properly. Palau as a Pristine Paradise means that we are blessed with a pristine environment and this tiny island nation, being a leader in conservation efforts, takes every effort possible to maintain the environment, especially the clean waters and beaches. However, Palau is also faced with environmental challenges beyond its control, including marine debris and potential increases in damaging storms due to climate change. If we clean plastic waste when we encounter it, we can continue the movement to make our planet a cleaner place to live in.
In order to join and do your part, collect as much plastic garbage in one day or few minutes that you can find, take several photos, dispose of the waste at your local waste recycling facility, and post images on Facebook or Instagram and nominate three people to participate in the challenge to join.
Facebook http://facebook.com/plasticwastechallenge
Instagram @plasticwastechallenge #plasticwaterchallenge