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Sophisticated sanitary landfill for Dompe



Geotextile being laid across the cell

Managing waste could be a grave issue for a newly developing country such as Sri Lanka. Lack of a proper waste management system and irregular garbage dumping practices have not only created an unpleasant atmosphere but the sanitary issues that may lead to instances of public unrest and tensed situations. Following the recent experiences of the turmoil caused by civil unrest due to a polluted water problem that claimed lives, the need to establish a suitable waste disposal system is immensely felt.


Sanitary landfill project

Floor Control Tank

Operations and maintenance building


Initial excavation by the Central Environmental Authority


The completed cell

In answer to the woes, a solid waste management system is emerging from Dompe, in the form of a sanitary landfill project that will address the age-old garbage problem with an environment friendly solution.

The first ever state-of-the-art sanitary landfill in the country introduced by the Central Environment Authority (CEA) with technical and financial assistance from the Korean International Corporation Agency (KOICA) will be completed and ready for operation by early November.

Located in a remote forest land near the Kirindiwela town, the site will provide a state-of-the-art garbage dumping ground for residual waste collected within the Dompe Pradeshiya Sabha area.

Managing Director 21st Century Property Development (Pvt) Ltd. Channa Ruberoe explaining the on-going work process said the secondary construction commenced in January 2013 and about 80 percent of the work has been completed now. Construction work is running round the clock despite the rainy weather that prevails almost every other day of the year.

The construction has been done in a swift manner and is targeted to be completed by early November. It was not an easy task to continue work uninterrupted due to the bad weather conditions that prevailed in the area since it is situated on the boundary of the Sabaragamuwa Province. It rained throughout the year except for five days which is not a healthy atmosphere to conduct land excavation and related construction. Despite these hostile conditions the labourers worked day and night to achieve our target. And with utmost commitment we have managed to tackle all obstacles that came our way, Ruberoe said.

Apart from the main construction, we have engaged in developing the surrounding environment as well. Trees that emanate pleasant aromas such as the ‘Araliya’ will be planted around the site premises to prevent the stench of solid waste being spread to the surrounding populated areas.

A wide extent of land excavated into a pit which is called a cell, laid with layers of different material to protect the soil from pollution and extract the waste water separately, has a capacity to hold an estimated 20, 000 metric tons of solid waste within a targeted period of 10 to 15 years by the time the landfill is completed. It is expected to be handed over to the public as a recreational ground when the landfill is complete.

The project will come as a solution to the unregulated, open dumping of solid waste by local authorities and will be the first sanitary fill to be used with modern technology to avoid pollution of soil, ground water and waterways in the surrounding area.

Although the project was launched in 2008 by the CEA it could not move due to obstructions by the residents in the surrounding areas who protested in the belief that it would turn out to be another open garbage dumping site in the neighbourhood, similar to the Bloemendhal garbage dump. Amid various public protests suspected to have been initiated by interested parties, a court order was passed in 2010 to continue the project and take action against all hindrances and obstructions.

The initial excavation was commenced by the CEA on several acres. A big cell was dug using heavy-duty machinery and land vehicles such as backhoes, bulldozers and tippers that removed mounds of earth to different portions of the land. The preparatory groundwork lasted about one and a half years and on completion KOICA took over the construction in June, 2012. The pilot project came under the inspection of Senior Presidential Advisor and Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa in 2012 with the participation of many dignitaries including the Ambassador of South Korea, Jonmoon Choi.

The project was commenced with financial assistance from the Korean government through KOICA with a grant of $4.5 million and $1.5million funded by the Sri Lankan government. Technical expertise was granted by the Korean government to set up the first ever sophisticated landfill in the country. The construction of the entire site including the cell, a floor control tank to collect the Leachate and a Bio-reactor tank is handled by the leading local contractor, 21st Century Property Development (pvt) Ltd. under the guidance of KOICA.

The cell is designed to receive 90 tonnes of solid waste a day, estimated to be filled in seven and a half years. The collection of garbage in the Dompe Pradeshiya Sabha area a day is expected to be around 7 to 10 tonnes, and therefore, the filling of the land is expected to run up to at least 15 years.

The cell which is about 20 feet in depth is designed according to a special formula of Korean waste management skills. The natural ground is based with layers of gravel, quarry rocks, polyethylene sheets and Bentonite soil covered with Geotextile material as the top layer.

Polyethylene pipes will be laid at the bottom to extract Leachate which will be directed to a separate floor control tank on the other side of the site. Bentonite soil will act as an absorbent. A separate project is under way to extract biogas from the Leachate that will be collected in Bio Reactor Tank. It will be purified to be used as fuel.

A multi storied building is constructed to instal the maintenance system which will be fully automated with a comprehensive computer system where data related to the maintenance of the cell and the site will be collected along with the data of the bio gas levels. The dump trucks that arrive with loads of garbage will be weighed in giant scales prior to the dumping and the entire operation will be conducted at this building.

On completion it will be the most sophisticated sanitary landfill in the country that will act as a model to the other solid waste management projects to be implemented in the future. However, an important fact that cannot be ignored is to have a proper maintenance system alongside the landfill activity to monitor the garbage dumping activity throughout the coming years and attend to any technical needs that may arise.

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