(Seychelles News Agency) - The Seychelles' environment ministry started implementing two green initiatives with the aim of promoting recycling and efficient energy use practices in public sector offices as part of this year's Clean Up the World campaign.

The senior public relations officer, Linne Dubignon, told SNA that the initiatives were expected to be launched at the National Assembly, where the staff members were already partially implementing best practices.

"It should be noted that the National Assembly has PV panels installed on the roof; they do not print and do not use plastic water bottles. They do not, however, segregate their waste because when waste is collected, all the trash is placed in the same vehicle," said Dubignon.

The PV panel on the National Assembly building was made possible through a grant from the Indian government in collaboration with the Public Utilities Corporation (PUC).

She outlined that coloured bins have been provided to the National Assembly for waste segregation and the assembly has been put in touch with businesses dealing with recycling for waste collection.

In Seychelles, there are four main types of waste being recycled – PET bottles, cans, paper and green waste, and it was outlined that some offices in the public sector produce a lot of paper waste.

As the launch of the initiative did not take place at the National Assembly due to unforeseen reasons, the ministry is still moving forward.

"We are going to go to the judiciary first and then to the different government ministries. The project is one that the ministry will be implementing as of this year to ensure a reduction in the amount of waste going to the landfill," said Dubignon.

On the promotion of efficient energy use, Dubignon outlined that this will help tackle high utility bills in the public sector.

"We have seen that during the night, at a time when there is no one working, some offices keep on their air-conditioning and lights. This is when we started looking into a project to educate staff on the efficient use of electricity and water. We are liaising with PR and communication officers to educate their peers on how to reduce the amount of water and electricity being used. They will need to ensure that there is compliance," said Dubignon.

Through the initiative, employees will need to make sure that all the devices are switched off when they finish work. o help educate staff members, stickers promoting efficient energy use will be placed strategically in the offices.

Dubignon said that many offices will not be able to change their appliances – refrigerators, microwaves and water dispensers – for energy-efficient ones due to the ongoing pandemic.

"They will have to optimise the way they use them in an appropriate manner. For example, don't open the fridge when you do not need anything or have nothing in the fridge. When heating food, two people can put in their bowls in one go. This will eventually reduce the electricity bill," she explained.

To ensure that there is compliance within the public sector when it comes to the initiatives, the Cabinet of Ministers was briefed on both matters on Wednesday. 

"Having the ministers on board will help us in getting more people to implement the initiatives and practices. It will take people some time to adapt to this, but slowly we will get there," Dubignon said.