Plastic crates, good initiative to reduce waste:

Implementation requires proper mechanism

by Shirajiv SIRIMANE

The introduction of plastic crates for the handling and transportation of vegetables by the Government is certainly a good initiative, but proper systems should be in place before such laws are enforced.

Products waste due to poor handling from harvest to buyers, collecting agents, transport agents, wholesalers and the consumer is estimated at 40 percent. Other reasons for this excessive waste are improper packaging, handling and transportation methods, said Mahinda Saranapala, an analyst on the issue.

A vegetable vendor from Nuwara Eliya transports 1,000 kg of vegetables to the Colombo Manning Market and approximately 40 percent of his vegetables are damaged due to poor handling (400 kg of vegetables). The consumer is forced to pay a high price for

such vegetables as the vendor will have to recover the cost of the waste by increasing the final price of vegetables.

The required estimated per capita consumption of vegetables is 75 kg per person per annum. The current figure is 33.7kg per person per annum. This shortfall in vegetable consumption can be bridged to a large extent by minimising the waste of fruits and vegetables. The annual production cost of fruits and vegetables is in excess of Rs. 35 billion.

It is estimated that Sri Lanka's annual production of vegetables is 700,000 tons. Based on the available waste figures, 40 percent of the 700,000 tons will be 280,000 tons per annum. In rupee terms, this damage reflects Rs 14 billion.

"However, one cannot strictly enforce such a law without having the proper systems in place as the farmers can afford to purchase their requirement of plastic crates partly subsidised by the Government," Saranapala said.

He said the second issue that crops up here is that the vehicle transporting crates cannot load any other items as the crates take a lot of space. "The solution for this is to set up depots all over the island that will stock crates from all sizes."Another suggestion is to hire the crates for a few days by these depots which would avoid the necessity of purchasing crates. "This will ensure easy implementation of the Government proposal."

A similar system works very well in the Pettah market. The hand carts which are used to handle goods belong to a few individuals in Pettah. All casual workers, popularly known as Natamy,

hire the carts on a daily basis and at the end of the day, pay the owner of the carts a nominal fee. These carts are seen chained and locked by the owner after they are received at the close of the day. The Natamy is not forced to have his own carts by investing a large sum of money which is beyond his reach."Similarly, by establishing or setting up the depots for crates, we can create employment opportunities in the regions

which will also help farmers, vendors, vegetable collectors and transport agents to minimise the blocking of capital for purchase of crates. Different colour codes can be introduced for these proposed depots", he said.

A major retail business company has successfully adopted a system, using plastic crates to transport fruits and vegetables from the farm gate and the suppliers, and successfully reduced the waste to 35 percent.

The resultant benefit from the waste reduction has been passed on to the consumer by way of reduced prices for all fruits and vegetables sold through its retail outlets. This is a good example of the private sector taking a lead role instead of depending on the Government for such initiatives.

It is suggested that pilot projects are undertaken in a few selected areas and regions which can be gradually extended islandwide.

There is also a suggestion to set up processing centres with cold storage facilities. During the season, a large quantity of tomatoes are destroyed annually. The only solution is to process the tomatoes to make tomato pulp and sauce.

"We need to give this issue top priority and initiate urgent action in the interests of our nation," Saranapala said.

Another personal analyst on this issue said, usage should be 80 percent crates and the balance gunny bags. "Imagine transporting melon and pumpkin in crates. This is useless; gunny bags are the solution for such vegetables," he said.