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Higher
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The contract, valid for 25 years between the CMC and BEL, doesn't allow for fresh proposals-excluding the present dumping method- to solve the garbage problem, unless the contract is terminated or expires. Meanwhile the garbage crisis has been mounting for the past few years, as garbage is being being piled up in vacant lands around the country. The CMC pays about Rs. 550 a ton a day to BEL for dumping garbage at the dumping site in Bloemandhal, Dr. Jayantha Liyanage, CMC's Municipal Commissioner said. As the CMC collects about 650-750 tons of garbage a day, it spends about Rs 180 million, annually for the disposal of garbage from Colombo city alone. Stressing the importance of public cooperation, he said everyone should consider the garbage crisis a national problem and ease the problem by at least burying some of it in their backyards. He said setting up an incinerator system, would be an alternate long term solution but it would cost around Rs. 600 million which was beyond its budget. However, the World Bank's senior environmental engineer, Sumith Pilapitiya believes that an incinerator system may not be the ideal solution for Sri Lanka, as the garbage composition here is such that the major portion of it comprises organic matter - 85% to be exact. "High organic matter implies that the garbage has a high moisture content, therefore, this type of garbage is not the most suitable for incineration," he said. He also spoke of the 'Not In My back Yard' (NIMBY) Syndrome, which has become an obstacle for authorities in implementing waste management measures. "Everyone wants a solution to the problem but, don't want it solved in their neighbourhoods," Mr. Pilapitiya said. "As Colombo is the Commercial Capital of the country, there isn't much vacant land in the city. Therefore, the idea of residents from out of Colombo protesting against garbage from Colombo being dumped in their areas is as ridiculous as not permitting residents from out of Colombo to enjoy the economic benefits the city has to offer. So many people come into Colombo everyday on business - they don't take their garbage back with them do they? So invariably, the garbage becomes everyone's garbage," he said. This view was endorsed by Padmini Batuwitage, Director - Environment, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, who said many attempts at finding suitable dumping grounds, failed because residents in the areas protested. She emphasised the need for an integrated effort on the part of both, the authorities and the public. If everyone was mindful of their purchasing patterns and worked at minimising waste, half the battle would be won. About 60% of the garbage problem could be reduced if people re-cycle their bio-degradables at least. The remaining 40% could be then disposed by recycling or via some environmentally sound manner, she said. Landfill sites are essential as they would accommodate the residue left over from re-cycling, compost plants and barrels. She said one of the main reasons why re-cycling hasn't caught on in a big way is due to the public not sorting out the garbage in a systematic manner. As a result the collection of items that can be recycled is insufficient. She pointed out since the process was cyclical if one part didn't work the whole process crashes. "From waste generation to disposal, the process has to be carried out in an environmentally sound manner Ms. Batuwitage said. She also said many pilot projects have been conducted throughout the island, educating the masses on sorting out their garbage into organic, plastic, glass, metal and paper. The introduction of re-cycling into the school curriculum is a huge step towards changing the attitudes of people and promoting a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Mrs. Batuwitage said the National Strategy for Solid Waste Management, drafted by the Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the Central Environmental Authority, The Ministry of Health, Ministry of Industries and the Urban Development Authority, in 2000, cannot be implemented in isolation. All team players must cooperate and do their bit, if the garbage crisis is ever to be resolved, she added. The biggest mistake the CMC made was to privatise their garbage management Dr. Ajantha Perera, a founder of the national programme on re-cycling of Solid Waste, said. In 2001, when the government wanted to re-structure local authorities, advising them all to be privatised, the CMC too had jumped at the offer she said. Although faced with some problems before, the CMC was managing the garbage problem relatively well, she added. She said Philippines and Singapore, have been successful in tackling their garbage problem. "These countries give scavengers high priority and focus more on re-cycling and composting. We should follow suit as, they too have huge piles of garbage dumped in various sites across the country. In one instance 250 people had been killed in the Philippines when a garbage heap had fallen on them. "If the government can support the setting up of more compost plants, develop existing plants and promote re-cycling projects island-wide, it would be quite a productive practice in the long run, which could lead to the eventual eradication of the garbage problem. The compost plants at Vavuniya, Bandarawela, Anuradhapura, Udu-Nuwara, Nuwara Eliya and Mathugama have been quite successful but they need more government support. She also said the government should impose a heavy fine on those who are litterbugs and those who use shopping bags, as is done in Bangladesh and certain provinces in India. In
search of a dumping ground Negombo's Mayor Henry Fernando said the Municipal Council collected about 50 tons of garbage a day and a private company was helping them to dispose of it at a site in Kochchikade. Kotte's Mayor J.M. Somadasa said the Environmental Ministry had taken the Kotte Municipal Council to courts since it did not have a proper place to dump garbage collected from the area. " We collect about a hundred tons of garbage daily. Our dumping site is in Badgamuwa but the residents in the area have protested against the dumping of garbage there. So now we don't have a proper place to dump the garbage. We have called for tenders to collect and dispose of our garbage," he said. The Sunday Times learns that the Kaduwela Pradeshiya Sabha has not collected the garbage of the residents of Pelawatte for over a week. An angry resident said even though they had complained to the Pradeshiya Sabha little had been done, forcing the people to dump the garbage in their own backyards. However, Kaduwela Pradeshiya Sabha chairman Muditha Peiris said that garbage was being collected on a daily base and it was being dumped at sites in Pelawatte and Battaramulla. "If the garbage has not been collected in a particular area the residents should bring it to my attention. The private company - Burns (Pvt) Ltd. also assits us to dump garbage at Bloemendhal," he said. Moratuwa's Mayor Ravinath Gunasekara said they had signed a contract with a private company-Golden Sunrise (PVT) ltd, that collects and disposes garbage and also converts the garbage into electricity -the first of its kind in the country. Meanwhile, CMC's Director Engineering (Solid Waste Management) Lalith Wickramasinghe said only the Colombo Municipal Council was permitted to dump the city's garbage in Bloemendhal and if other municipal councils were doing so they would have to get authorisation from the CMC. However, Burns Ltd. chairman, Lal Wijeratne said that they hadn't signed an exclusive contract with the CMC and the Bloemendhal site was a private land owned by Burns and therefore they had the right to do anything with it. Threats
and deaths at Madampitiya Meanwhile residents complain that many people including children have developed respiratory problems due to the foul smell emanating from the garbage. In another development, CMC officers have complained of death threats from thugs who are allegedly working for the private company that is at loggerheads with the CMC-Burns Private Ltd. Residents who live adjacent to the site told The Sunday Times they had no title deeds but had bought the land from past owners. Most of these people complain of diseases occuring to the garbage site. Malarvili, a long time resident said doctors had told her that her two children had died due to brain infection which is caused by constant inhalation of polluted air. "I lost my first daughter in 2001 when she was four years old. My other daughter died a few weeks ago. She was five years old. She had a slight fever and we admitted her to hospital but within a week she died," she lamented. Four
pronged approach the only answer "Unless all these issues are addressed simultaneously, there will be no proper eradication of the problem. Although most of the parties concerned concentrate on the technical and financial aspects of the issue, they would be of no avail if there is no political commitment and institutional responsibility,” Mr. Pilapitiya said. In 1993 under the Metropolitan Environmental Improvement Programme the World Bank was to fund a sanitary landfill and compost plant, to convert organic matter into compost, with the assistance of the Ministries of Policy Planning and Environment. "Whatever waste management method (recycling, incinerating or composting) is employed there will be some percentage of residue, which needs to be disposed of. This is where landfill comes in to play,” he said. On four separate occasions the Building Research Organisation (NBRO) identified suitable sites for the plant cum landfill, carried out Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), got the approval from the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) and even conceptualised designs for the plant. But due to protests from residents of the relevant areas and certain environmental groups, each time the project was abandoned, Mr. Pilapitiya said. He said therefore the World Bank closed the solid waste management due to a lack of political commitment and wastage of state funds. The plant if set up at that time, would have by now substantially resolved the garbage problem of Colombo and 22 surrounding local authorities for the duration of 30 years. "In a highly populated country like Sri Lanka, we are never going to find an ideal location for a plant in a non residential area. Therefore what is needed is to make the residents aware of the project at hand, address their concerns and offer them incentives in the form of community development projects,” Mr. Pilapitiya said. Highlighting the importance of political commitment he said, “Although regular conferences are held to discuss the most feasible solutions to the garbage problem, they never get off the ground due to the constant change in players (politicians).” Outlining the economics of such a project, he said for one of these landfills to be economically viable it requires a minimum of 300 tons of garbage a day. As only Colombo can meet the required amount of garbage a day, for it to be economically feasible outside of Colombo, two to three local authorities must work together to meet the requirement. Recycling as opposed to sanitary landfill is a more time-consuming slow solution, as it involves a complete attitudinal change of the general public. Landfills on the other hand are seen as a more immediate solution to a burning problem, Mr. Pilapitiya said. Stressing the need to look at the bigger picture he said by solving the garbage issue and reducing the incidence of communicable diseases, the cost of public health care could be reduced in the long run. |
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