Garbage in garbage out is a major problem!

With the LG polls in the offing, promises are being fulfilled while the stages in the political arena have become active. It is high time that the issue of waste disposal which is causing a great inconvenience for the people needs to be solved. 

Since the collapse of the Meethotamulla gargantuan garbage dump, a new modus operandi with regard to the dumping of garbage was introduced. If this method was introduced with the best of interest, then the relevant authorities need to rectify the shortcomings in this system for the betterment of the citizens – or at least to obtain a large number of votes at the forthcoming polls.  This method due to various reasons has caused considerable inconvenience to the people living in apartments and flats. Before this method was introduced, people living in flats had the facility to dispose garbage from their residences directly into a pit which was connected to all the residences in a certain block. 

However, with the implementation of the new system, the pits were sealed off permanently and residents are now compelled to carry their bags of garbage all the way down and dump them in a garbage truck which arrives at uncertain schedules. 

If we closely examine the practical nature of this system, we can conclude that the disadvantages are many. It is a well-known fact that men leave for work early in the morning which leaves the women with the daunting task of carrying the heavy bags of garbage all the way down and dumping them. 

Some garbage trucks arrive only once in four days which makes the garbage accumulate and thereby makes the bags much heavier and difficult to carry. Is it feasible for elderly people, expectant mothers and mothers with newborn infants living in five to seven-storeyed flats to carry the heavy bag and come all the way down? 

On dumping the garbage, pieces of polythene and polythene bags are returned as polythene is to be collected on a different day. The day on which polythene bags are to be collected rarely dawns for the garbage collectors of the CMC. However, if a person pays them a tip of Rs. 50-Rs. 100, they readily collect the polythene and stuff them into a bag which they have kept for this purpose.

Will the residents of these areas receive a favorable solution for this garbage problem? Will these requests be ignored as per the trend of Lankan politics? Commissioner of the Colombo Municipal Council, this is over to you for a speedy solution. 

Hassaan Shazuli

Colombo 10