Faulty laws

Urban plastic waste management rendered inefficient:

by Dhaneshi Yatawara

Inadequacies in the rules and regulations to categorise plasticware has made the plastic recycling process of the country inefficient, scientists complain. It has left the bulk of urban plastic waste which continues to pollute the environment.

According to experts there are no regulations in Sri Lanka to instruct plasticware manufacturers to compulsorily indicate the resin type used to make a particular plastic item according to the internationally recognised code.

The issue was brought to the notice by experts in a special round table discussion for media personnel, organised by the Centre for Sustainability of the Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, held recently at the University of Sri Jayewardenapura.

The discussion was an eye opening session for journalists reporting in the specific fields from all media.

Dr. Jagath Manathunge, a specialist in biological and environmental sciences of the University of Moratuwa, explained that plastics are made out of different resins, and knowing the exact chemical structure is important as the recycling processes are different. "Collecting different types of plastic waste separately is a necessity for an efficient plastic waste recycling process," he added.

"Many of the plastic products imported and manufactured locally do not indicate the Resin Identification codes, which are internationally accepted. Recycling plastic is impossible if the manufacturers do not indicate this," explained Dr. Manathunge.

The Resin Identification codes or R.I. Codes indicate the type of plastic depending on the different chemical polymers used to make the plastic. The same recycling methods cannot be used for all of these categories of plastics," explained Dr. Manathunge.

Eco-friendly product

For example, plastic water bottles have three types of plastics - the cap, the bottle and the label are three different types. They need to be disposed of separately and the manufacturers must indicate the three codes.

If there is a mechanism to dispose of them separately by the consumer, it would be more efficient than trying to separate it at the recycling plant," he added further.

Separating different types of waste  Pic: eco-clean.co.uk

Urban waste plastic recycling has numerous obstacles specially in a country like Sri Lanka. Unlike the non labelling plastics with R.I.codes, urban plastic waste is heavily contaminated and there are safety issues at recycling plants. Plastic could be a more eco-friendly product, if managed properly, said Dr. Manathunge.

"Considering the use of energy, waste of natural resources and environmental pollution during manufacturing, plastic will have less adverse effects on the environment if it is properly disposed, recycled and reused," he elaborated.

"The problem is plastic is too versatile. We tend to use it for mostly disposable, low value items such as food wraps and product packaging. But plastic is not disposable," he added.

Considering the number of families in Sri Lanka, the total consumption of plastic bags per day would be 1.9 billion - if assumed each family discards one bag per day, according to the scientist. "Bags is just one consumable, there are many other items used daily such as yoghurt cups, lunch sheets, water bottles and tetra packs," he added.

All these compose a bulk of the urban waste, which is not efficiently managed in any Sri Lankan town. Many programs were initiated under the Central

Environment Authority's Post Consumer Plastic Recycling program. A list of commercial recyclers are registered with the Central Environment Authority (CEA) under the Post Consumer Plastic Recycling program.

"But the recyclers are very specific about the type of plastics they take to be recycled," said Director, Waste Management Unit of the CEA.

Even though the discussion was meticulously organised facilitating the journalists, the presence of the private sector and the recyclers would have established a better dialogue among all stakeholders.

Highly politicised

The policies, studies and theories were heavily discussed at the round table, but the practicality of the matter at the ground level was very vague. Commenting on behalf of the organisers, President of the Centre for Sustainability Dr. Priyan Perera said that their aim was to make journalists aware of the current situation in urban plastic waste management.

"We organised a series of discussions bringing all stakeholders together - especially the private sector and the scientists.

The aim was to disseminate the scientific knowledge and the state of the art technology to the company owners to bring a sustainable solution to the problem," he explained.

The disparity between the local authorities and the main decision making bodies coming under the Central Government was also recognised as an obstacle in finding a sustainable solution to the urban plastic waste problem.

The CEA has no authority to direct the local authorities, especially the Municipal Councils and the Provincial Councils to conduct the plastic waste management programs.

Despite the continuous monetary and technical support by the CEA, plastic waste management programs are either discontinued or inefficiently carried out by the local authorities due to the highly politicised nature of the these institutes.

In order to bridge this gap, it was suggested at the discussion to establish grassroot level organisations and educate decision makers of political parties.