Pacific Recycling Foundation Arrives in Sydney to Lead Landmark VAKA Forum Advancing Solutions to the Waste Crisis

Pacific Recycling Foundation has arrived in Sydney, Australia, ahead of its highly anticipated VAKA Forum: International Academic Lens & Donor Alignment, to be hosted on 17-18 February at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

While the Forum will focus on academic collaboration, its central purpose is clear: to drive implementable, practical recycling solutions that directly address the waste crisis in Fiji and across the Pacific.

The Forum is being delivered in partnership with UNSW and ANZPAC Plastics Pact – APCO, with additional support from Fiji’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Pacific Energy, Suva City Council, Tourism Fiji and industry partners as part of the 2025 Global Recycling Day campaign.

PRF is expecting close to 40 participants, including well-acclaimed academics, senior government leaders, industry representatives, development partners, and donor agencies – reflecting strong regional and international interest in supporting grassroots solutions grounded in lived experiences, frontline challenges, and pilot initiatives that have already been tested, implemented, and demonstrated measurable results.

As a frontline practitioner, PRF has spent years implementing recycling programs, supporting informal collectors of recyclables – Collection Pillars of Recycling, and building community-based systems across Fiji. The VAKA Forum represents a pivotal moment where this on-the-ground experience will directly inform research frameworks, funding pathways, and policy alignment – ensuring that solutions are not theoretical, but practical and scalable.

“For us, this is not just about dialogue,” said PRF Founder Amitesh Deo.

“This is about strengthening what is already working on the ground and expanding our ability to do more. With the support of academics, donor agencies, and industry partners, we can move beyond the limitations we previously faced and implement solutions at a scale that truly matches the urgency of the waste crisis.”

A major objective of the Forum is to enable PRF and its partners to move outside the traditional scope of isolated projects and toward coordinated, multi-stakeholder action. Through structured working groups and funding alignment discussions, the Forum aims to unlock new areas of impact – from systems strengthening and research-backed programming to regional replication and industry collaboration.

The Forum also maintains a strong human-centered and gender lens, recognising the vital role of women and marginalised communities within the recycling ecosystem. By placing dignity, lived experience, and inclusion at the centre of its approach, PRF continues to advocate for solutions that are socially just as well as environmentally sustainable.

Over two days, participants will engage in collaborative sessions designed to convert research and funding conversations into measurable, implementable outcomes. The intention is to ensure that partnerships formed at UNSW translate into concrete action throughout 2026 and beyond.

The VAKA Forum forms part of PRF’s broader Global Recycling Day campaign and the expanding VAKA Forum Series – a movement grounded in Voices, Alliances, Knowledge, and Action, bringing together diverse sectors to build a unified circular economy vision for Fiji and the Pacific.

From Sydney, PRF is reinforcing a clear message to the region and the world: Pacific practitioners are ready not just to speak, but to implement, and with aligned partners, to scale solutions that were previously out of reach.