Tonga's new rubbish tip Tapuhia at Vaini, was officially handed over to the Government on Tonga on Friday December 8 but it will not be operational until 2007.

Constructed at a cost of $12 million pa'anga, the Tapuhia modern waste landfill is the first worldclass facility in the Pacific region funded by the Australian Government. HE Dr Bruce Hunt the new Australian High Commissioner to Tonga, handed over the facility to Tonga's Minister of Health Hon Viliami Tangi who is the Chairman of the Waste Authority Ltd.

Amid tight security, the guest of honor at the ceremony HRH Princess Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu Tuita unveiled the landmark stone of the new rubbish tip.

However, the relocation of the rubbish dump to the new site will not take place until sometime next year and in the meantime the old seafront Tukutonga site continues to be Tongatapu's rubbish dump, confirmed Talita Helu of the Tonga Solid Waste Management project.

John Gildea the Team Leader of the Solid Waste Management Project said in his welcoming speech that a Tongan dream had come true.

Eight years ago, the Minister of Health proposed for a new landfill to promote a cleaner environment and on December 7, 2003, the Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Hon Dr Viliami Tangi for the Solid Waste Management Project to begin, he said.

"This is a world class facility and the first of its kind in the Pacific islands, it is a facility that the nation should be proud of."

The construction of Tapuhia began in May 2005 and was completed in October 2006. On September 1 the Tongan Cabinet established the Waste Authority Limited body to run the operation at the site.

Talita Helu of the Solid Waster Management Project said that at Tapuhia household rubbish excepting organic wastes are accepted.

There is a drop off area for the public where they drop waste into yellow steel bins to be picked up by a wheel loader and taken to the disposal area at Tapuhia. The dumping is controlled by placing rubbish into sub cells and crushed by a landfill compactor with steel wheels, which at the end of the day will be covered with soil to prevent smell, flies, wind blown litter and rats.

The new tip also accommodates a special waste cell for special wastes such as infectious hospital waste, pesticide containers, chemical containers, and old pharmaceuticals. There is also a recycling area where recyclable material goes into bays marked with signs, for glass, steel, aluminum and plastic wastes.

The Government of Tonga jointly helped in the project with the Ministry of Works with the supervision of the construction and engineering design.