A local restaurant owner has expressed alarm at the build up in rubbish around the Mulinu’u area, saying it doesn’t portray a good image of the country.

Seiuli Ian Black, the owner of the Sails Restaurant and Bar at Mulinu'u, told the Samoa Observer on Saturday that they go out of their way to keep their premises and the adjacent area clean but the increase in littering by the public is a concern.

He said his employees pick up the rubbish discarded by the public but the volume is increasing and they now spend an hour or two picking up litter, which includes debris that are washed up on the shore.

"The tourism tagline is ‘Beautiful Samoa’ but down this way it's not so beautiful, it's not so beautiful because of the discarded rubbish, trash and you name it, it's been thrown on the sea wall,” Seiuli said in an interview.

“Nappies, bottles, take-away plates, it’s just disgusting. The area where we are at Sails, we try to clean up this area from the ramp on the eastern side to a little bit beyond the beach here and it's quite a big area.

"We rake the beach in front, collect the rubbish but we can't do the whole seawall, we don't have the resources and manpower to do it.”

With the opening of Samoa’s international borders over 20 days ago, Seiuli said they’ve had tourists go around to his seaside restaurant overwhelmed by the beauty of Samoa and the friendliness of the locals, until they walk along the seawall and see the rubbish.

"I think most people in the Apia area walk the seawall daily and it's really a great tourist attraction, and when they get down to this end past the MET Office, that's where the rubbish really starts. It’s in that area where it is particularly bad.” 

Seiuli believes there are not enough rubbish bins, due to the sight of the overflowing bins and the awful smell, which he said is turning away both locals and tourists. 

According to the businessman, the description of the overflowing bins and trash does not reflect the country’s ‘Beautiful Samoa’ tourism tagline, which has been marketed on multiple social media platforms.

The large amount of debris that washes up on the shore is the result of heavy rain and strong winds in recent weeks, which is being pushed by the tide to the point at Mulinu’u. However, Seiuli does not believe it is just Apia residents who are throwing rubbish recklessly, but the whole island of Upolu. 

He added that this should be a wake-up call for authorities to better educate the younger generation on how to discard rubbish and looking after the environment should be a shared responsibility.

“This is a shared responsibility for all in Samoa to look after our environment, keeping it healthy and alive just as we are proud of our cultural heritage, we should be proud of keeping our home neat and clean, where we can share Samoa's beauty with the world, pristine and clean.”