18 March 2026, Apia - With excitement and determination, Year 8 students from Ah Mu Academy in Samoa traded time in the classroom for a day where they played waste detectives at SPREP’s Vailima headquarters, before they were crowned Pacific Recycling Heroes.
The students actively engaged in SPREP’s commemoration of Global Recycling Day guided by the theme: "Recycling Heroes: Don’t Think Waste – Think Opportunity."
Facilitated by the Waste Management and Pollution Control (WMPC) programme, the students received valuable lessons on different waste streams, circular economy and the specific challenges of waste management in Samoa, and the Pacific.
Ah Mu Academy teacher, Ms Salafai Lauaki-Losivale, said the interactive nature of the sessions delivered by SPREP staff inside the room and in the outdoors made it easier for the students to understand a topic that can sometimes be challenging to grasp.
“We’ve learnt a lot today and we are extremely grateful for this opportunity so thank you SPREP,” she said. “Armed with this new-found knowledge about waste, its impact and what we can do as individuals and communities, this is a very good seed to plant now in the students as they continue their learning journey.”
Ah Mu Academy is a private primary school located in Pesega, Samoa. It serves students up until Year 8 and actively participates in the commemoration of national and international events such as Global Recycling Day.
The Global Recycling Day is held annually on 18 March to recognise and celebrate the importance of recycling in preserving natural resources and securing the planet's future. It promotes a circular economy, encouraging individuals, governments, and businesses to prioritise recycling, reduce waste, and manage resources sustainably.
SPREP Director of WMPC, Mr Anthony Talouli, reminded that on Global Recycling Day, we are responsible for our environment.
“If we look after the environment, the environment will look after us,” he said. “Today as we join the world in celebrating Global Recycling Day, I encourage all of us not to think waste but think opportunity.
“It’s a challenge for us to look at our rubbish differently. It's not just trash; it's a resource waiting to be transformed.
“And I think working with students whose minds and imaginations are very active is an important part of this work as these students will learn and take the message further as future leaders.”
Ms Susana Telakau, SPREP Solid Waste Management Adviser added that the day’s programme was designed to help students discover the hidden value in what we throw away and learn how they can become Recycling Heroes in the Pacific.
“An exciting part of our day was when students became waste detectives! They worked in teams, they analyzed pre-sorted waste samples to identify items, categorise them, and calculate what could have been recycled or composted. They learnt to track waste patterns and discover opportunities for reduction.”
Students also took part in a Waste Sorting Challenge, where teams had to correctly sort a pile of mixed refuse into appropriate bins: General Waste, Recyclable Plastics (PET/HDPE), Aluminium Cans, and Compost/Organic.
“One of the goals for today was to inspire students to become Recycling Heroes by understanding that waste is an opportunity, not just rubbish and I think we achieved that.”
Global Recycling Day was created in 2018 to help recognise, and celebrate, the importance recycling plays in preserving our precious primary resources & securing the future of our planet.
Every year the Earth yields billions of tons of natural resources, and they are running out. That’s why we must think again about what we throw away, seeing not waste, but opportunity.