As of November 1, Municipal Councils around the country will refrain from collecting household garbage if it is not sorted.
In an attempt to implement a new cohesive waste management plan for all nine provinces, the Provincial Councils and Local Government Ministry has advised all municipal councils in the country to refrain from collecting garbage if it is not sorted.
The municipal councils have agreed to abide by the advice of the ministry. Earlier this month, Provincial Councils and Local government Minister Faizer Mustapha announced that residential garbage in the country must be segregated from November in order for it to be collected.
The Central Environment Authority, in the meantime, revealed that about 7,500 tonnes of waste is produced in the country every day and that a new plan was needed to manage waste in a systematic manner.
The issue of dealing with waste is not just a uniquely Sri Lankan problem, but a dilemma all governments around the world grapple with. As the population increases so does the amount of waste generated and thus governments need to come up with new and innovative ways to deal with waste. Many people forget about garbage once it is taken away by the Municipal Council trucks, but it is time people started to take an active interest in garbage as it may soon become an issue in their own backyard.
It does not take long for an environmental crisis to become a social one as many residents from poor economic conditions such as Meethotumulla have found. Overnight, their own backyards were converted to Colombo’s landfill site, with mounds of stinking waste filling up their day to day existence. This problem has not just affected residents of Meethotumulla, but also those of several areas. This year alone, we have seen protests erupt around the country as the people object to their homes being turned into the next dump.
Hence, it is in such a situation that the government is paying serious heed to the need to control the amount of waste that is originally generated and to recycle and reuse whatever we can. The concept of reduce, reuse and recycle thus is not a luxury, but a dire need in our lives.
According to Ministry Secretary, Kamal Padmasiri, the ministry is carrying out discussions with several government authorities to make their waste management plan a success.
All provinces carry out different waste management plans, he said adding that Minister Mustapha has instructed officials to formulate a systematic waste management plan for all provinces.
Officials from the Central Environmental Authority, Land Reclamation and Development Corporation, the Urban Development Authority and Municipal Councils along with Ministry officials are taking part in the ongoing discussions. In an attempt to decrease the amount of garbage collected at the end of each day, the Ministry launched the programme with the intention of managing garbage that can be recycled or reused. The plan, therefore, is to collect all ‘sorted’ or ‘unsorted’ garbage; sorted being the recyclable garbage, while organic waste is unsorted.
In attempt to decrease the amount of garbage collected at the end of each day, the initiative of the ministry is to manage the garbage that can be recycled or reused.
Padmasiri said President Maithripala Sirisena has identified the environment conservation programme as a prominent one and under the President’s instructions, steps are being taken by the government to make an action plan for an environmental conservation programme which can be carried out practically by identifying environmental issues.
He said the programme should be implemented in collaboration with all state and private institutions. The President instructed officials to strengthen existing programmes implemented by the Central Environmental Authority and to make plans with fresh strategies.
Stating that President Sirisena had said that within the next three years, the government would provide solutions to the country’s garbage disposal problem through a proper national strategy, Padmasiri added that the President has appointed two committees for waste management, one is the technical steering committee for waste management in which Municipal Councils, the Land Reclamation and Development Corporation, Central Environment authority, provincial councils and Universities are a part of it and the other is an advisory committee under Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Faizer Mustapha.
“Master plans for waste management have been formulated by the ministry. As a first step, the ministry has informed all municipal councils that the garbage that they collect should be segregated. It will be expanded to the Urban Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas,” he said.
According to Padmasiri, compost was the most affordable solution to the garbage issue.
“There are many private companies willing to recycle the garbage. One master plans is to establish compost. Measures are being taken to produce quality compost. Awareness programmes will be conducted by the municipal councils. MC’s are responsible for implementing it,” he said.
Stating that by next year, compactors will be distributed, Padmasiri assured that step by step, we will achieve this. All issues pertaining to waste management will be addressed in the long run.
During the meeting held to discuss how to mitigate the waste disposal issue, all municipal council commissioners have agreed upon to implement the waste management plan proposed by the Local government and Provincial councils Ministry.
“We have been informed that it is compulsory for all citizens and establishments, be it households, apartments, hotels, or restaurants, to sort their garbage before handing it over to garbage collectors,” said Colombo Municipal Council Commissioner V.K Anura.
Accordingly, the people have been asked to segregate their organic and inorganic waste, which will be collected separately. The recyclable items include paper, cardboard, polythene, plastic, plastic bottles, glass bottles, metal items, empty yoghurt and ice cream cups, rubberised items, and coconut shells.
“We are in the process of conducting door-to-door campaign, asking residents to adhere to this,” said Gampaha Municipal Council Commissioner ADPI Prasanna, adding that the residents have been asked to hand over their segregated waste to municipal council lorries.
The municipal council has also planned to distribute waste disposal bags for the citizens in the city to get them involved in the waste management process.
He said that they do not have tractors to load the garbage and have complained about it to the ministry adding that, however, the ministry has agreed to provide the waste compacters by next year.
Although the solid waste management plan will commence on November 1, Prasanna said that Gampaha Municipal Council has been carrying this out for a longer period.
“The solid waste management plan to segregate garbage is not new. It was carried out earlier. However, with the support of the ministry as well as other authorities, the plan will be re-implemented,” he said.
Galle Municipal Council Commissioner Ranil Wickramasekara said if they fail to follow this programme, the municipal councils all over the country have been advised to refuse to collect waste from their homes or businesses unless it is segregated.
Central Environment Authority (CEA) Deputy Director General, Waste Management Eng. Upali Indraratne said national level policies have been made targeting each district adding that the ministry has finalised ground level policies and strategies.
Indraratne highlighted that recycling is vital when implementing the waste management plan.
There are many ongoing projects to dispose of garbage. The government has planned to send Metro Colombo solid waste to the proposed landfill in the Puttlam District, yet the public and many environmentalists have identified the place as an environmentally sensitive area. The government authorities are in the process of looking for lands to dispose of garbage.
“It is a big challenge to find a land area to dispose of garbage. The area should not be surrounded by people. Except the areas that are declared as forests, people have settled in all other places,” Indraratne said adding that they are district wise looking for lands to dump the garbage.
However, he said that the new initiative will seek to further resolve issues regarding improper waste management which has caused serious problems in many parts of the country.
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