SOLOMON ISLANDS: Fostering better community waste management
With a BLP Grant, Cheroa Waste Management Service (CWMS) based in Honiara, PNG, purchased 30 rubbish bins and bin accessories, enabling them to pioneer a new and different waste collection service offering a cleaner, more convenient solution for households and businesses.
CWMS, owned by young entrepreneurs Orinza Moveni and Pato Rebi had a desire in 2022 to build a business – one that could give back to the community and get extra income. “We were fresh out of university, both working but we started thinking about a business of our own.”
It was evident to both of them that waste was an issue in the Solomon Islands. Although they didn’t have any equipment or knowledge about the industry, they felt they could develop a business to help solve the problem. Orinza says, “We had no money at the time – only $150 between us.”
Today the business provides refuse collection and disposal of general and recycled waste, with over 300 wheelie bins and nine youth employees.
Testing their business concept
To test their business concept, they developed an online page and advertised their rubbish collection services for three weeks amongst their friends and family. “We then collected the rubbish, both working to understand what was involved, find out what they needed to learn about. It gave them some money to go further and enabled us to feel confident in their direction and to define the business model.”
Orinza says “It was funny. People were saying, ‘You’ve just come out of university, why are you collecting rubbish!’”
However, what they learnt through this trial was that there needed to be a better way to collect rubbish. Traditional plastic rubbish bags for example didn’t protect against rodents and dogs.
Differentiating their service
One of their key objectives at the outset was to differentiate their business from others.
By supplying proper waste bins to clients, they realised they are could not only supply a more hygienic (lidded) vessel for rubbish, but they could also differentiate themselves from other waste companies.
He says people in the Solomon Islands generally collect their rubbish in a pile or put it in fuel drums. “Our business model is a new idea which we can really leverage on social media to get our messages out to the community. We’re not just managing waste; we’re reshaping habits.”
One of their messages is ‘Stay Safe. Stay Clean. Beat Malaria.’ “Our bins help minimise and keep mosquitoes away, so we hope that people see the benefit to their home and business.”
Orinza says Facebook works well for their business. “It’s very accessible for our customers. It’s been really helpful in our business.” Most of their customer base are residential customers with a handful of schools and commercial operations as well.
We use Facebook to actively educate people about the importance of proper waste management, and we believe that this will have a positive impact on their attitudes and behaviours toward waste management in the future.
CWMS also offer a flexible collection system. Orinza says some household might need two pickups in one week and the following week they only want one. “So we offer flexibility. They contact us on Facebook to let us know.”
“We are very thankful to BLP. The grant helped boost our business at a time when we really needed it. It allowed us to think ahead.” Without the funds from BLP and other financial funders, he says their business may have died.
Orinza and Pato are ambitious to expand their services to the whole of Honiara. “We’re dedicated to create a waste free environment for all homes and communities in Solomon Islands.”
Right now, he says there is not segregation of waste. Looking ahead they would like to have a proper recycling facility, that allows the recycling of waste. He says there is good opportunity to sell waste tin, copper, brass and plastics which can then be made into products for re-use.
We think they might be onto something big. Certainly, providing customers with an easy to use, regular, environmentally more robust rubbish collection service, is sure to foster new household habits for cleaner, healthier communities in the Solomon Islands.
BLP facilitates access to business advisory services and financial support. To start your journey with BLP, you can self-assess your needs by using the free online tools available to help small- and medium-sized businesses diagnose areas in their businesses that an advisor could improve.
The first step can be the online Business Health Check. You can also check your business’s resilience to respond to crises or climate change challenges on the Business Continuity Planner and the Climate Action Sensor. If you prefer to meet a local BLP representative in person to discuss your business, get in touch with our local partners to arrange a face-to-face Diagnostic.