BPPL Group urges Sri Lankans to dispose plastic waste responsibly
View(s):BPPL Holdings PLC and its subsidiary Eco Spindles, Sri Lanka’s largest plastic recycler, has urged people to responsibly dispose plastic waste across the island this week and on World Environment Day which was marked yesterday (Saturday).
This year’s theme, “Ecosystem Restoration” focused on implementing a solution to a depleting ecosystem, an urgent issue faced in Sri Lanka, and across the globe.
The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) noted that the Western Province alone generates around 7,500 metric tons of solid waste every day, of which only 3,500 metric tons are collected. Of this, close to 15 percent becomes compost, 10 percent is recycled and 75 percent is thrown into open dumps. “We recycle over 360,000 plastic bottles a day. While we are proud of our contribution to a greener Sri Lanka, the severity of the impact of irresponsible disposal of plastic needs to be addressed. People worldwide are asked to act with immediacy to revive the ecosystem that is being damaged at a startling rate,” noted Group Managing Director Dr. Anush Amarasinghe.
One of BPPL's plastic waste collection centres
Aligning with this year’s theme and playing their part as a responsible organisation, the BPPL Group has engaged in multiple waste management initiatives over the past five years, despite challenges posed by COVID-19. Three of their key highlights are the collection initiatives at Sri Pada, Kataragama and Thalawila, three sites of religious worship that attract crowds from across the island. However, this has also resulted in millions of plastic waste being disposed of irresponsibly during season time annually. The BPPL Group identified this as an issue and established the Sri Pada, Kataragama and Thalawila Waste Management Programs to collect and recycle plastic waste that is irresponsibly thrown into the environment.
At Sri Pada during the 2020/21 pilgrimage season, Eco Spindles and partners, Link Natural Product Private Ltd., Maskeliya Divisional Council, and the Nallathanniya Wildlife Department collected over 45,000 waste plastic bottles from Sri Pada.
At Kataragama, through partnerships with Coca-Cola Beverages, the Kataragama Soba Mithuru Youth Club, Kataragama Divisional Council, CEA, and Medical Officer of Health Office (MOH), the BPPL Group was able to collect 30,000 PET plastic bottles in 2020.
Eco Spindles noted that the quantity of PET waste collected in the country reduced by 30 percent during the pandemic due to a decline in tourism. This is an indication of the amount of plastic waste that is brought by people visiting places across the island. Due to COVID-19, there has been a reduction in PET plastic disposed of as people cannot travel.