Garbage problems

President Maithripala Sirisena has given instructions to remove flood debris but there is still no place for it to be dumped after the tragedy of Meethotamulla and the subsequent stalemate of dumping sites. Granted the Government has been hit by a quick succession of disasters, it still cannot ignore its obligations to previous emergencies in favour of the most recent tragedy. In fact this would be a great opportunity for policymakers to consider holistic solutions. 

The Government had announced plans to remove Meethotamulla after the continuous protestations of the people of the area – a measure that seems tragically belated. It had also promised comprehensive solutions to the country’s serious garbage problem and pledged to resolve red tape and logistical issues. But after the initial furore died out the Government initiatives have languished with no progress and attention has been diverted.

It is simply astounding that the most basic measures that are crucial to the wellbeing of citizens take governments years to even put into action but self-serving political measures get swift attention. In truth, a disaster has been knocking at our doors and, barring a tragedy of this magnitude, the warning signs have been evident to those who cared to see.

The Government’s plans to simply relocate the garbage mountain at Meethotamulla to Ekala were met with fierce protests by the people of the area, and with good reason. Successive governments have done little by way of building recycling plants in the country, with policymakers claiming that the process would take two years, as if to suggest that this problem has not existed for decades.

Seven hundred 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 hazardous waste is being produced per annum. Solid and hazardous waste is unloaded at open dumps, causing serious health hazards, and is burnt in the open air, where it causes land and water pollution. 

During the last two decades, dumping destroyed almost all the wetlands around Colombo. Animals perished choking on garbage and those who care to protest were given the cold shoulder or hauled away by the Police.

Meanwhile, garbage heaps continue to form, mount and be burnt at several locations around the country with environmentalists believing that there are as many as 58 unmanaged dumps in the Western Province alone. 

However, apart from the protests of the surrounding people and environmentalists, the injurious effect it has on human beings has not been felt in full until now.

Lawsuits against offending companies, World Bank loans for better management of municipality dumpsites, the promotion of recycling and domestic waste disposal through compost making are all tested and failed methods in Sri Lanka. Yet these ideas have taken root and flourished elsewhere in the world. 

People continue to remain oblivious to their responsibilities regarding garbage due to a lack of awareness or concern. The Government and much of the public were content to let the brunt of this situation be borne by a few, but now faced with a new reality it is up to everyone to force the hands that procrastinated for so long to ensure that history never repeats itself.