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We can’t deal with our plastic waste
View(s):By Anushiya Sathisraja
Polythene, plastic and electronic waste collected under an islandwide campaign which ends today is to be exported as Sri Lanka lacks sufficient recycling facilities, a Central Environment Authority (CEA) official said. The collected electrical waste will be exported to UK, Norway and Hong Kong because Sri Lanka lacks recycling process, Director of Solid Waste Management Ajith Weerasudara said.
The news emerged as Sri Lanka marked “National polythene, plastic and electronic waste prevention week” and President Maithiripala Sirisena launched a website (www.wmd.cea.lk) containing information about polythene, plastics and electronic waste. The Central Environment Authority (CEA), which is authorised to monitor manufacturers and distributors of polythene, said it was difficult to gauge the thickness of polythene without proper machinery and many manufacturers were getting away scot-free with the production of polythene that did not conform to required thickness.
Buddhadasa grounds Battaramulle: One of the collecting points. Pic by Indika Handuwala
Every year, 500,000 metric tonnes of plastic and polythene are imported to the country as raw material to be processed, and 30 per cent of the finished material is exported while the rest is released to the local market. Forty per cent of the discarded polythene and plastics within the country is directed to the recycling process. The CEA currently has six recycling plants in operation and two more awaiting commissioning. About 160 firms involved in plastic recycling are registered with the CEA and this number is expected to increase. The CEA planned to support local government bodies and private sector to set up 25 recycling centres covering the entire country in the next year or two, Mr. Weerasundara said.
According to a survey conducted by the Environment Ministry 72 per cent of villagers and 49 per cent of people in urban areas in the Western Province use polythene lunch sheets, a prime cause of polythene pollution. Sri Lanka generates nearly 3,500 tons of electronic waste annually – everything from computers and CPUs, thousands of CDs and DVDs, televisions, refrigerators , mobile phones and batteries, according to the CEA, CEA, Senior Environment Officer, Ms Wilka Ranasinghe said.
There are dangers in plastics. Brominated flame retardants (BFRs), added to plastics to prevent them from becoming inflammable, are considered to be a hormone disrupter, and children exposed to these substances show increased risk to thyroid and neural diseases. Arsenic, found in computer chips and light-emitting diodes, is a skin and lung cancer-causing substance. It causes skin lesions and cardiovascular disease.