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| Sunday, 5 February 2006 |
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Some methods of garbage disposal by Elmo Leonard The disposal of solid waste which is a critical and challenging problem in Sri Lanka, could be coalesced between the local and central governments, Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Tissa Vitarana said last week. With urbanisation and the growing population, the problem is also worldwide. Disposal of garbage, besides other human waste was deemed the responsibility of the Municipal. However, there are also home grown solutions for waste disposal, carried out in some parts of the world. The Minister made his observations at a seminar on 'sustainable disposal of solid waste' conducted by the Chamber of Construction Industry Sri Lanka. Solid waste could be made use of to benefit society. A case in point, was in India and studied by Prof. Vitarana, a few years ago. There, the disposal of human waste, or excreta was traditionally the responsibility of the Harijan community; carrying such waste over their heads was commonplace. A bright Harijan leader had suggested the collection of human waste in home cess pits, of two pits placed close by. The waste was anaerobically (in the absence of oxygen) broken down biologically and passed into the second pit. The waste produced biogas was used for cooking and lighting of homes and also of use to a school nearby. The residue was collected as highly effective fertiliser; did not contain any harmful pathogen and the whole process was odourless. A similar process of break down is in use in some parts of Sri Lanka, including Obeyesekera Town, in the outskirts of Colombo, Prof. Vitarana said. The heaping of solid waste could cause breeding of flies and resultant diarrhoeal diseases. The collection of water in tins, bottles and coconut shells found in the waste, breeds mosquitoes and is a cause of dengue epidemics, Prof. Vitarana added. The dumping of solid waste is a source of food for dogs, increases the dog population and results in an increase in the incidence of rabies. Filling earth with municipal waste is not a good solution; bio-technical processes applied to solid waste is the answer, Prof. Vitarana said. Simple apparatuses for such biological conversion, could be adopted in
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