|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 17 August 2003 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Tackling Sri Lanka's garbage crisis is every citizen's responsibility by Neomi Kodikara In the absence of proper management and disposal of waste, solid waste has become a critical environmental concern particularly in the more urbanised areas of Sri Lanka. Densely populated urban areas generate larger quantities of waste, which contain a higher amount of non-biodegradable components than in rural areas.
The types of waste produced could be either solid or hazardous, generated by household and commercial activities. Both types are threatening to life and environment because of the method of disposal. This article deals with solid waste or consumer waste that concerns millions of city dwellers. Man, as a global nation generates one billion tonnes of refuse every year. Sri Lanka's contribution to it is 983.310 tonnes, 54 percent of which is from the Western Province of which 44 percent is from the Colombo district.The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources attributes the increase in local trash output to the growing population, technological development and the changes in the lifestyles of the people. Waste, in Sri Lanka is a property of the local authorities and they are responsible for the collection and disposal of solid waste arising from residential and commercial, hospital waste, industrial waste, slaughter house waste, drain clearings and street sweepings. According to a survey done by the Ministry in 1998, each day on average Sri Lankans generate about a total of 2,695 tonnes of waste of which 1,448 tonnes is from the Western Province alone. They throw out 186, 000 tonnes of cardboard and paper each year, out of which only about 16 per cent is recycled. Out of the disposed waste glass bottles and jars, only 40 percent is used in its process of production. Until recently, most Sri Lankans gave little or no thought to such questions. News media began to carry stories about a "garbage crisis," and legislators started to pass laws intended to reduce the amount of garbage by requiring people to recycle. However, the garbage fiasco is actually the result of poorly planned `Solid Waste Management.' Sri Lanka like other developing countries in the South Asian region really is in the midst of a garbage crisis. It is not only a matter of debate among government bureaucrats, NGOs, and environmentalists to find ways and means to tackle the `garbage crisis' but also the responsibility of every citizen. The most common destination for ordinary garbage is a dumping ground, since no sanitary landfills are available in the country. A minute percentage of garbage, only hospital waste is burned in incinerators, maintained by a few major hospitals. A tiny proportion is either recovered by recycling or converted to compost.
In most existing dumps, contaminants in the waste leak into the ground water. They are also in the close proximity to residential areas, which they affect by their stench and by the presence of insects and other scavengers, which spread diseases in the vicinity. The 30 metres high mound of rubbish at Bloemendhal Road in Colombo and waste dump at Madinnagoda, Rajagiriya illustrate all the dangers associated with uncontrolled garbage dumping. Proposal A landfill proposal is one of the projects most likely to bring out the "not in my backyard" syndrome in citizens. Local opposition groups protest the development of landfills and often file lawsuits to stop them. Politicians often respond by adopting the attitude called "not in my term of office." As a result, no landfills have won approval. Incineration, euphemistically termed as waste-to-energy, or resource recovery, facilities by waste officials and bureaucrats is not warmly welcomed by the Ministry officials. Their opposition revolves around two main issues: toxic air pollution and disposal of the ash that is left after garbage has been burnt. However, only a few hospitals maintain small-scale incinerators in Sri Lanka at present. The other hospitals mainly dispose of their needles and syringes and even body parts with their normal waste. In several cases, the final disposal site is next to a river and some of this waste contaminates the river water. In the face of opposition from residents and environmentalists to all types of dumps, some local officials turn to an approach for warding off a future garbage crisis that gets universal approval: recycling, which has been identified as the best solution for the waste problem. According to Padmini Batuwitage, Director Environment to the Ministry, more than 75 percent of waste we generate can be re-used or recycled. From the local standpoint, recycling programmes reduce the need for new landfills and incinerators because they cut the amount of garbage that requires disposal. From a wider point of view, recycling conserves natural resources, such as trees and saves energy. Though there are many recycling collection programmes exist in Sri Lanka only a very few are run properly. The Ministry in collaboration with the Maharagama Pradeshiya Sabha conducts a pilot programme on recycling in about 3000 houses in Maharagama, to facilitate final disposal of waste in an environmentally sound manner. The programme is appreciated by many residents in the area, who point out that the sacks of waste seen along the roads were less after the programme was initiated. However, it has been felt that most of the people need to be educated about the hazards coused by haphazard dumping. Some people talk about the difficulties of separating waste while some others had low enthusiasm as collecting garbage is not properly conducted due to lack of manpower and resources. Approach Another approach to garbage disposal is garbage composting. Processing indoor garbage by composting is less common. Even more desirable than recycling are efforts to create less garbage in the first place-a concept known to garbage experts as source reduction. This approach is in its infancy, and it is difficult to say what reductions can be achieved. One way of encouraging source reduction is to charge customers for garbage collection based on the amount of garbage they produce, which is under consideration of the ministry officials. The government has enacted an array of measures in the past few years to attack the garbage problem. These laws require residents to recycle, local authorities to establish recycling plans with goals to achieve through the participation of NGOs and private sector. The environment division of the ministry has developed a National Waste Management Strategy in which three year action plan has been identified. The strategy emphasises the need for waste segregation at source, waste avoidance/reduction, reuse and recycling. Paradoxically, the wastes we throw away are valuable resources, for which we all pay the price. Therefore, the solution to the garbage problem obviously lies in waste reduction, recycling and reusing resources that are currently treated as waste. Growing problem The separation of wastes in their sources would significantly reduce waste management costs since recycling programmes would incur only half the cost of land filling and one-third the cost of incinerator operations. About three years ago, it was twice reported that `the growing garbage problem' would be solved by two different private companies planning to set up waste processing plants, costing hundreds of millions of US dollars. However, these projects did not get off the ground. So far just a few urban authorities have established their own small-scale composting facilities. No large-scale solution to the problem has been found. The legal framework required for solid waste management is adequately provided under Local Government Act. The sections 129, 130 and 131 of the Municipal Council Ordinance, the sections 118, 119 and 120 of the Urban Council Ordinance and the sections 93 and 94 of the Praddshiya Sabha Act have clearly and adequately provided for the management and disposal of solid waste in the respective areas. However, according to Mrs. Batuwitage the resources available at present at local authorities are not adequate to implement efficient solid waste management strategies. She says that the local authorities should be given sufficient financial and technical assistance to develop and implement the strategies and law enforcement should be coupled with these incentives to ensure compliance. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
