Encouraging responsible disposal of garbage

Saturday, 28 March 2015 01:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Centre for Sustainability of Sri Jayewardenepura University and Piramal Glass Ceylon Plc partner for key initiative

Centre for Sustainability (CFS) attached to the Forestry and Environmental Department of University of Sri Jayewardenepura together with one of their private sector partners Piramal Glass Ceylon Plc conducted a ‘Waste Collection Day’ in the proposed university township areas, recently. The Waste Collection Day initiatives took place at the Sunethra Maha Devi Temple, located next to the university, under the auspice of the Chief Incumbent Priest Ven. Rathmalane Pagngnajeewa, Waste Management Unit Asst. Director Mahesh Jalthota, CFS Senior Lecturer and Coordinating Director Dr. Priyan Perera, Piramal Glass Ceylon Plc Chief Operating Officer Sanjay Tiwari, Sri Lanka Recyclers Association Secretary Lasantha Wickramasekara, other well-wishers and the general public. Waste Collection Day was another initiative conducted under the ‘Be the Change’ campaign that was launched in September 2014 by the CFS and Piramal Glass Ceylon Plc, with the objective of promoting responsible disposal of garbage and encouraging the general public to shift into using environmental friendly, recyclable packaging material. During this specific initiative the public in the vicinity of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura were educated about the harmful impact of non-biodegradable packaging material such as plastic and polythene has on humans and the environment, the need to dispose domestic waste in a responsible manner and the importance of shifting into recyclable packaging material. “Recycling is a very successful mechanism in solid waste management. Dumping garbage in the open environment leads to many hazards in terms of causing health issues, pollution issues and aesthetic issues which are detrimental to humans as well as fauna and flora. As such encouraging responsible garbage disposal, recycling and promoting recyclable packaging material will definitely lead to arriving at sustainable mechanisms of co-existence between humans and environment,” said CFS Senior Lecturer and Coordinating Director Dr. Priyan Perera. Members of the Sri Lanka Recyclers Association were also present during the program to purchase a variety of waste ranging from glass, plastic, e-waste, iron scrap, etc. from the public in the area.