Garbage to be dumped in new site

Ananda KANNANGARA

Nearly 20 heaps of garbage accumulated within the city of Colombo and suburbs over the past few weeks would be removed to the proposed site at Peliyagoda within three days, Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), Competent Authority, H. Sumanapala said.

Sumanapala told the Sunday Observer that due to the non-removal of garbage, over 3,000 metric tonnes were lying in the city.

He said dumping garbage and creating garbage heaps was not a solution to the problem and the CMC would launch a permanent recycling program shortly.

"We also hope to invite the private sector to take up the challenge of recycling garbage," he said.He pointed out that over 700 tonnes of garbage is collected from Colombo city limits each day and their non-removal on time would help spread diseases, posing a serious threat to the health of the city folk.Meanwhile, an Indonesian medical practitioner, Dr. Hoggs who is in the island on a short holiday said that unlike here, the garbage disposal in his country is carried out by the health sector in order to save money that would be spent to arrest the spread of diseases.