Garbage bins for all householders in the city

by Ananda Kannangara

The Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) will launch a massive garbage bin distribution program tomorrow for the benefit of 3,000 householders in the city of Colombo. According to the program, which is conducted for the first time in CMC history, another stock of 7,000 garbage bins will be distributed to families living in 47 wards in the Colombo Municipal Council from next week.

The green garbage bins produced by a local plastic manufacturer are currently stocked in the CMC grounds and the distribution process will begin tomorrow.

CMC Special Commissioner, Badrani Jayawardana told the Sunday Observer that the CMC has already purchased 10,000 garbage bins from the Ministry of Environment at a cost of Rs.1,200 each.

“To fulfil President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s concept of creating `Sri Lanka is a garbage free country in the year 2012’, the CMC took a policy decision to provide a garbage bin to each householder at Rs. 600 each.

She said householders will be instructed to use these garbage bins only to put organic items, such as vegetables, rice, fruits and fish refuse and not other non-degradable items such as paper, cardboard, pieces of glass, plastic and polythene paper.

The CMC Special Commissioner said that Pyramal Company, an Indian manufacturer, in Horana will purchase pieces of glass to manufacture bottles and glassware, while the Veridex Company at Battaramulla will purchase polythene and plastic refuse for recycling.

The Neptune Paper company at Peliyagoda has agreed to buy paper and cardboard for recycling.