Uniting to solve waste problems

The Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) is set to initiate a stringent waste management program within the Colombo city limits in order to resolve the garbage problem in the city. The severity of the issue spilled over following the tragedy which took place in Meethotamulla when a garbage mountain collapsed, destroying homes and leaving hundreds dead. However, the response from both the authorities and public has been less than ideal.

Weeks on, the issue is no closer to resolution and authorities have been at a loss to provide a sustainable way out of the crisis. For days, garbage collection was affected with municipal authorities having no options in terms of dumping collected waste. Refuse piled up on street corners and outside homes as dump sites were closed and residents near proposed dump sites protested vehemently alongside environmentalists. All solutions that were offered up in the public domain are simply extensions of what was being done prior to the incident in Meethotamulla, with any meaningful solutions only seemingly possible at some indeterminate point in the future.

The 700 metric tonnes of garbage generated in the early ’90s in the Colombo metropolitan area has now quadrupled. At the national level, more than 40,000 tonnes of waste is being produced per annum. The Government believes that waste can be reduced to 400 metric tonnes if the garbage is separated and domestic waste composted. However, environmentalists charge that although a waste management policy has been in the hands of the Environment Ministry since 1996, it is still on hold. Due to this failure, no systematic waste collection is available in Sri Lanka. Those who collect material for reuse have been discouraged by the Government as there is no policy implementation. Except for a few items, there is no glass bottle collection in the country.

The CMC now hopes to implement a strict garbage collection procedure with the aim of halting the collection of organic waste and implementing stringent rules on garbage segregation amongst the public. Garbage segregated as organic waste, recyclable items and non-recyclable waste would be collected on different days. The CMC collects around 750 tons of garbage each day and have distributed 2,000 compost bins to households with the aim of distributing more in the future.

However, the adoption of these changes has been slow by both the authorities and sections of the public who have demonstrated a weak capacity to change even in the face of great disaster. In areas where segregation of garbage is strictly enforced, municipal workers have reportedly been assaulted for refusing to accept unsegregated garbage. Furthermore, the use of plastic bags remains a massive problem in the country even though most supermarket chains have incentivised the use of reusable cloth bags. Most consumers do not even reuse their plastic bags, instead opting to dispose of them after single use with no regard for the burden it causes.

It is time that authorities find a meaningful solution to the ever-growing problem of waste, while it is also the duty of the public to back its incessant complaints with the discipline needed to make change possible. It is imperative that all the stakeholders involved understand the necessity of working together to make this country cleaner, safer and a more responsible global citizen.