PAPE‘ETE, French Polynesia (September 29, 2000 – Oceania Flash/SPC)---French Polynesia has consigned its first shipment of recyclable waste to Asia, RFO-radio reports.
The French territory's waste management company, SEP, said the first consignments, totaling 268 tons of waste, were sent to Hong Kong and Djakarta (Indonesia), where they will be recycled to the Asian markets.
The waste has been carefully selected, sorted out and packaged for shipment in the past four months.
"This is a satisfying achievement. For a long time we have been trying to set up this new market," SEP General Manager Karl Meuel said.
Metal waste is being sent to Djakarta. Plastic and aluminum is going to Hong Kong.
But this trial shipment is so far not profitable. It cost SEP some 871,000 French Pacific Francs (about US$ 8,000) per ton to collect and send the waste to Asia.
"The market is definitely out there, but our waste quantities are limited. Also, we are far...