In the Solomon Islands’ Western Province, unmanaged waste is choking reefs, fuelling climate risks, and threatening community wellbeing. Burning and dumping plastics and organics is now a daily reality, polluting globally significant coral ecosystems and undermining food security. At the same time, women and youth face severe economic exclusion: 85% of Solomon Islanders work in ...
Positive Change For Marine Life
Waste to Wealth: Building Circular Economies for Climate Resilience and Women’s Empowerment in the Solomon Islands.
GOAL
$50,000
Australia
Field of Interest
- Education/training and employment
- Environment conservation and climate change
Target Population
- Flora / fauna
- General population
Project Summary
In the Solomon Islands’ Western Province, unmanaged waste is choking reefs, fuelling climate risks, and threatening community wellbeing. Burning and dumping plastics and organics is now a daily reality, polluting globally significant coral ecosystems and undermining food security.
At the same time, women and youth face severe economic exclusion: 85% of Solomon Islanders work in the informal economy, with few pathways to secure jobs.
Waste to Wealth (W2W) is the only community waste management and circular economy service in the Solomon Islands. Since 2021, it has provided waste collection, composting, and enterprise opportunities that empower women to turn waste into resources, income, and resilience. The program has already diverted tonnes of plastics, processed organics into compost, and replaced over a million single-use items!
With donor support, W2W can urgently scale waste collection from 220 to 2,220 households, create 168 women-centred jobs in composting and upcycling, and establish circular economy enterprises that align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 5, 11, 12, 13 & 14).
Project Outcomes
By 2028, Waste to Wealth will transform waste into opportunity, achieving measurable environmental and social outcomes:
- 250 tonnes of plastics diverted from landfills and oceans.
- 73 tonnes of organic waste processed annually, producing 36 tonnes of compost for farmers.
- 2,220 households and 30 businesses enrolled in waste segregation — reaching more than 15,000 people.
- 168 women- and youth-centred jobs created, moving participants from informal, vulnerable work into stable green livelihoods.
- 2.6 million single-use plastic items are eliminated each year, reducing marine pollution and strengthening reef resilience.
Success will be measured through rigorous monitoring in partnership with local councils, universities, and community groups. Outcomes will also be embedded in Western Province bylaws, ensuring sustainability beyond the project’s duration.
Crucially, W2W addresses gender equity and climate justice together: providing women with the tools, digital skills, and enterprises to lead on waste reduction while protecting ecosystems that buffer communities from sea level rise and flooding.
With USAID funding withdrawn, this program now urgently relies on donor support to survive. Without it, women risk losing livelihoods, and Western Province communities lose their only waste collection service.
With it, W2W becomes a flagship model of Pacific resilience, locally led, globally relevant, and directly contributing to the SDGs on gender equality, sustainable cities, responsible consumption, climate action, and life below water.
Thank you in advance for supporting this incredible project!
Budget Breakdown
TOTAL BUDGET: $376,752
FUNDING
| Funding source | Amount |
|---|---|
| The Funding Network | $25,000 |
EXPENSES
| Expense item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Staff Salaries (Full time Waste to Wealth Manager and 28 casual workers) | $252,480 |
| Project Equipment (Truck hire, boat hire, Waste Machine facility, hygiene equipment) | $124,272 |
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