Australian Billionaire Proposed 900K Tons/Year Waste Incinerator To Generate Power; Govt Of Fiji Told Him To Fuck Off

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The Fijian government has rejected a plan by an Australian billionaire to burn rubbish for energy in Fiji after backlash from traditional landowners and tourism operators. The plan to ship non-recyclable rubbish from across the region to Fiji, popular with tourists for its pristine beaches, and build an incinerator to consume 900,000 tonnes of waste a year had been labelled “waste colonialism” by villagers.

Fiji’s ambassador to the UN, Filipo Tarakinikini, said in April that the Vuda coast north of Nadi “must not become the Pacific’s ashtray”. Fiji’s environment ministry on Thursday said it had rejected The Next Generation Holdings’ (TNG) proposal for the energy-from-waste plant and a private port because of issues surrounding the scale of the project, imported waste, hazardous ash management and public health risks. Questions over the impact on tourism and the environment, and the economic case for the project were also unresolved in material submitted by the company, the ministry said.

“This is not a decision against investment or against new waste solutions,” Fiji’s secretary for the environment, Sivendra Michael, said in a statement.“The department was not satisfied that the potential impacts and risks of the project could be adequately assessed or managed.”

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Residents said the emissions would spoil Fiji’s eco-tourism reputation and pose a safety risk with hotels and schools nearby. “Dial a dump” founder Malouf spent seven years trying to get a similar waste-to-energy incinerator approved in Sydney before it was rejected as a risk to human health in 2018.

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/04/fiji-offshore-rubbish-waste-government-rejects-australian-billionaire-pacific-ashtray-plan