(Seychelles News Agency) - All private commercial institutions and entities will be obliged as of April 1 to have a contract for waste collection with an approved contractor, said a top official.

The chief executive of the Land Waste Management Agency, Flavien Joubert, told SNA that the agency has met with and registered companies that are capable of providing waste collection services.

“The agency has provided them with the necessary information that would allow them to engage with potential clients. A letter has also been sent to all commercial establishments in our database to inform them on the migration and the list of contractors they can contact to cater for their needs,” said Joubert.

Currently, the Land Waste Management Agency acts as a middleman in the process of disposing commercial waste. Businesses and establishments are contracted with the agency that in return use waste collection contractors.

Joubert said in a previous interview that this method resulted in bad debts and the agency saw itself subsidising the service as the price did not reflect the real cost of the service.

The decision was taken last year following the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers in August to better manage the commercial waste in the country.

For over 20 years the collection of waste in Seychelles was done mainly by the Société de Traitement et d'Assainissement Régional (STAR).

With the new system, new businesses can now fill this role. 

At the moment there are 19 contractors for the collection of commercial waste while municipal waste is being contracted out by the Ministry of Environment.

Stephen Dupouy, the director of Wastea, a local contractor for the collection of municipal waste, said it is good that the government is providing space for other businesses to enter into the collection of waste.

With regards to the new system for commercial waste, Dupouy said: “It will help in the management of waste as some businesses were just disposing their huge amount of waste at bin sites, which are designated for municipal waste.”

He added that “the new system as it is will also provide a better record system of waste being collected and ending up at the landfill.”

When the new system comes into operation, contractors have to keep records of transactions and provide information relating to the names of clients, types and amount of waste collected and where for. This will be required for the agency’s records and to keep public bin free from commercial waste.

According to a recent report -- “Solid Waste Management in Seychelles” -- compiled by students from ETH Zurich University and the University of Seychelles found that at least $4.5 million is going into waste management per year. The report found a large potential to recycle waste materials such as cardboard boxes, egg trays, paper bags and crushed glass, which can be reused in the national market.