CEA and IWMI to improve solid waste management

The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), organised a stakeholder meeting to discuss improvements to the management of Municipal waste in Colombo following a request by the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC).

From left: Dr Pay Drechsel of the IWMI, Dr Saranga Alahapperuma of CEA, Minister Susil Premajayantha, Dr Peter McCornick and Dr Herath Manthrithilake of IWMI.

The meeting at the headquarters of IWMI in Pelawatte, Battaramulla, was a follow-up to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between CEA and IWMI in July.

The Minister of Environment and Renewable Energy, Susil Premajayantha, Municipal Commissioner, Ms. Bhadrani Jayawardhana, and officials of the Environment and Renewable Energy, the Defence and Urban Development, the Agriculture, Local Government and Provincial Councils Ministries, CMC and other stakeholder institutions, such as the Waste Management Authority of the Western Province were present.

The CMC produces 700 tonnes of municipal solid waste per day, which represents about 25 percent of the country's total solid waste collection. More than 60 percent of the waste consists of organic matter.

Minister Susil Premajayantha said, "Solid waste in Colombo, with its high moisture content and organic composition, is well suited for composting. Experience from phase one of the Pilisaru, the national solid waste management project, shows that composting can provide a solution to a large part of the organic waste, which otherwise has a high potential of polluting water bodies."

The Minister assured the support of his ministry in carrying out the feasibility study to convert organic waste into compost.

"This study would extend to the Colombo Metropolitan Region (CMR) beyond the CMC," he said.

Waste disposal is a major challenge in Colombo and the disposal site is coming to the end of its operational life.

The Municipal Commissioner said that diverting as much waste as possible from any dumping site should be the strategic focus of everybody. She said that to reduce, reuse and recycle were key pillars of Sri Lanka's waste management strategy.

According to Dr. Hemantha Wijewardena, Director, Organic Fertiliser Unit, Ministry of Agriculture, nearly one million hectares of paddy land are cultivated annually in Sri Lanka. "If at least one tonne of organic fertiliser was used per hectare, there would be a huge requirement for this," he said. "However, improving the quality of the compost is key to increasing demand," he said. Infrastructure needs to be developed for waste management.

Director General, CEA, Dr. Saranga Alahapperuma stressed the need to introduce modern concepts, such as the 'polluter pays' principle, product stewardship and extended producer responsibility, to enhance the commitment of all sectors of society towards improved waste management.

Director, Pilisaru, N. S. Gamage said, "Implementation of a composting project to serve the CMC is our priority in phase two of the Pilisaru project, which will be from 2014 to 2018."

Compost produced from waste could provide a win-win situation for the CMC, farmers and the environment.

"To achieve a sustainable transformation, a comprehensive feasibility study will be an important step," said Head, Sri Lanka Development Initiative, IWMI, Dr. Herath Manthrithilake.

Theme Leader for IWMI's research theme on Water Quality, Health and Environment, Dr. Pay Drechsel said that the proposed feasibility study for the Greater Colombo region would be based on different value propositions and business models, which were prepared after analysing approximately 150 success stories in various developing countries.

He said that the potential for replicating these business models will be assessed under the proposed feasibility study.

The study would cover seven areas: waste supply, analysis of compost demand, financing, technologies, health, environment, and institutional and socio-economic analysis.

Director General, CEA, Dr. Saranga Alahapperuma said, "This multi-disciplinary approach will increase the sustainability of our project and is a much-welcomed addition."

He said that the same approach can be replicated across phase two of the Pilisaru project sites, and can be applied to support composting stations that were set up under phase one to increase cost recovery and lifetime.

Deputy Director General - Research, IWMI, Dr. Peter McCornick said, "Waste is a challenge, but can be converted into an opportunity."