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Garbage collection dysfunctional, council handicapped, say officials
CMC woes: No staff, not enough waste trucks, decades old fleet, no investment, no technical knowledge, and ageing, unproductive workers. Pic by Indika Handuwala
Despite lingering concerns over public health issues such as the uncontained spread of dengue and a dysfunctional waste management system in Colombo, officials say they are handicapped — no staff, not enough waste trucks, decades old fleet, no investment, no technical knowledge, and ageing, unproductive workers, and worse — more than 1,000 metric tons of garbage is not collected.
There has always been “long-standing” concerns about waste management and public health in the capital, since there is a strong link between disease and urban refuse, the Chief Medical Officer of the Colombo Municipal Council, Dr Ruwan Wijeyamuni said.
“There are 47 wards in the city limits and it is the public health inspectors who check for dengue breeding sites. We need 75 PHIs, but we only have 46. We need six medical officers of health, but have only four. It is the same with other staff as well,” he said.
“Population expansion coupled with rapid urbanisation has created major waste disposal challenges for the region.’’
The Western Province generates 3,500 metric tons of solid waste a day of which only 2,400 MT is collected. Of this, 15 per cent is turned into compost, 10 per cent recycled and 75 per cent thrown into open dumps.
There is insufficient capital investment to implement an effective waste management strategy, the director of Waste Management in the Western Province, Nalin Manaperuma said.
He also points to the reluctance to create and implement laws and the lack of political commitment at all levels of government.
There is no accountability in service delivery, while technical know-how is weak.
The CMC at present has only 50 trucks and these are more than 17 to 20 years old. Vehicle break downs are high.
“When a vehicle breaks down, it is difficult to complete the garbage collection on time. Most of our garbage collectors in the CMC zones are ageing and their productivity is low,” he said.
The aim is to reduce 85 per cent of the waste discarded in open dumps to 25 per cent by 2020, Manaperuma said. The plan is to recycle 12 per cent, turn seven per cent into compost and incinerate 47 per cent.
Although composting will be profitable, the Western Province has constraints on available land. Currently, eight per cent of rubbish is made into compost, seven per cent recycled and 1 per cent incinerated.