Minister for Environment Lynda Tabuya says the new $200 littering fine is not about collecting money from Fijians, but about stopping people from littering and changing behaviour.
The littering penalty will increase five-fold from $40 to $200 from 1st September, subject to the completion of the Gazette process.
During her ministerial statement, Tabuya stressed that waste does not simply disappear, but travels into drains, rivers, beaches and the ocean, with the cost eventually being paid by ratepayers, taxpayers, the tourism industry and the environment.
She says Fiji cannot continue treating littering as a small offence.
INSERT: Tabuya on $200 litter fine 18th Aug
She says the $200 fine is only one part of the Government's response, with enforcement being strengthened through a network of litter prevention officers.
She says the Ministry will work with officers from municipal councils, the Fiji Police Force and the Land Transport Authority, who will be trained in identifying offences, gathering evidence and properly issuing fixed penalty notices.
Tabuya says the Government will also track how many notices are issued, where offences are occurring and whether people's behaviour is changing.
She says they do not want to simply assume the law is working, but need to prove that it is working and that Fijians should expect a stronger penalty and a stronger enforcement presence.
The Minister says the National Integrated Waste Management and Pollution Control Strategy 2026-2035 provides Fiji with a national roadmap for the next decade.
She says Fiji must move from a throwaway economy to a circular economy based on reduce, reuse, recover and recycle.
She says the Government is also progressing the School Waste Management Initiative and developing Container Deposit Regulations in consultation with the industry, adding that the goal is to turn waste into value, recycling into opportunity and environmental responsibility into everyday behaviour.
Tabuya says there is an uncomfortable truth Fiji must confront, that we cannot clean our way out of Fiji's waste problem.
She says the cleanest country is not the one that cleans up the most, but the country that litters the least, and that is the change the Government is pursuing.
Meanwhile, Opposition MP Virendra Lal says the Opposition does not oppose the objective of the initiatives, but has questioned whether the Government has provided enough detail on how the measures will work.
Lal has questioned the basis for the $200 penalty and whether the Government considered the impact of a flat fine across different sections of the population.
INSERT: Lal on $200 fine concerns 18th Aug
He has also questioned whether the regulations will be gazetted in time for the planned 1st September commencement.
Lal has raised concerns about the capacity of the expanded network of litter prevention officers, including how many officers there will be and what training, vehicles, equipment and support they will receive.
He has also questioned whether enforcement will reach rural and maritime communities.
He says without genuine enforcement capacity behind it, a five-fold penalty increase risks being nothing more than a number on paper.
Lal is calling for greater investment in prevention, including more public bins, more frequent municipal collection and public education.
