• Garbage: steps in the right direction

• Going Garby

Garbage: steps in the right direction

By Nilika de Silva

Garbage has been a festering problem in Colombo and its suburbs for too long. Several measures instituted in the past met with limited success, but now it appears that this problem is being addressed systematically.

The possibility of privatising garbage collection within the city is being examined with certain sections of Colombo already being handed over on contract basis to private cleaners, while alternative methods of garbage disposal such as recycling are being tried out in suburban areas.

Colombo Mayor Karu Jayasuriya says there has been a good response from the public to privatisation. "We see a significant improvement in these areas. There is a sincere effort being made by the contractors. The Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) is saving approximately 40% by giving the contract to private cleaners." Garbage collection in the Fort and Pettah areas was handed over on a contract basis to Carekleen Private Limited, since October 1. Care Kleen is paid by the Colombo Municipal Council. And this move enables the CMC to save a large amount of money, explained the M.D. of Carekleen.

Managing Director, Carekleen (Pvt.) Ltd, J.K. Fernando said their's is a '24 hour service'.

"We try to keep the place as clean as possible." There are one hundred cleaners on the job working to keep Fort and Pettah clean.

Describing the work they do in these areas he said their cleaners work on a shift basis. They have placed one cubic metre skips (large garbage receptacles which can be loaded on to the truck) at different places, and the people are gradually learning to deposit their garbage in these. But he says, "We have problems with the shops in the Cross Roads in Pettah. However much you tell these people, they still throw the garbage on to the road.

"We also have some trouble due to heroin addicts who collect the garbage from the merchants cut off the rotting parts of vegetables and fruit and then sell the remainder in order to find money to feed their addiction.

He said their solution to this has been to station people near the skips to prevent the heroin addicts gaining access to the garbage. Mr. Fernando says things are improving.

And soon they will start using the mechanical sweeper, an apparatus with a built- in vacuum cleaner, to clean the roads. He also plans to import a Gully Sucker which would further help in keeping the city clean. Ruwansiri Jayaratne, a vegetable seller at Manning Market in Pettah said now garbage collection was being done in a much more efficient manner. There are bins placed everywhere and as these become loaded they are cleared, he said.

"It is better than the Municipal Council," said Mr. Vipulasiri, describing the garbage collection, one month after privatising took place in the Fort and Pettah areas. "The cleaners are not like the Municipal Council people who would just sign the book and then go and do some other job."

Mr. Imthias, a salesman in a little boutique in Pettah, said, "It is much better than those days. This place is cleaned everyday. It's just like in Saudi Arabia where I worked for about three years."

Municipal Commissioner Marasinghe Perera confirmed that garbage collection in many parts of the city, Colombo North, Colombo West and some sections of Colombo would be privatised.

Going Garby

In the suburbs the story is different.

'My Garbage in my Backyard' is how GARBY, a new environmentally friendly garbage disposal unit came to be christened. Today 350 people in a quiet residential neighborhood in Kohuwela are users of this new system.

"The Dehiwela-Mount Lavinia areas will also start using GARBY from the beginning of November," said Environmental Engineer, Tissa de Silva who designed this unit. Working together with five graduates his goal is to make Sri Lankans play an active role in disposing of the waste produced in their environment.

The first batch of 400 GARBYs created with UN assistance, were sold at a subsidised rate of Rs. 400 and are now almost completely sold out. Many of the subscribers to GARBY have a good report to give.

Ms Gunawardena, an Agriculture graduate, bought her GARBY almost one and a half years ago. Opening the mesh door of her kitchen, which served to keep out insects she leads us out into the narrow backyard, where the GARBY is located to show us how it has been functioning. "It's never filling," she said with wonder. That is the secret behind this ferro-concrete monster that just gobbles up your household organic waste reducing it to compost to be used in your garden.

The first step towards using GARBY is to separate waste material as organic and inorganic waste. The paper should be put into one container while the plastics go into another and the kitchen waste and other organic waste would be put into a GARBY. This would decompose over a period of time. "We bag and sell the compost at Rs. 5 per kilo," said the designer of the GARBY.

Mr. de Silva who has researched the methods of garbage disposal in countries such as France, Britain, Japan and particularly Canberra where he was based for a long period says that the state could then arrange for pick- up trucks to take the waste to the centres which will be located in each ward. From these collection centres then the paper waste will all be taken to Valachchenai while the plastic will be taken to a separate storage place..

"Yet, the problem was that in places like the office of the Organization of Professional Associations (OPA) where GARBY units were installed, although the office workers co-operated very well and disposed of waste into the correct bins, the workers who cleared up after them were not concerned about keeping the different kinds of waste separate," said De Silva.

"The paper is not sent to Valachchenai and they are burning the collected polythene. The office staff is co-operating but the project is not working because of the cleaning contractor," he explained.Greater Colombo produces about 1100kg of garbage per day, which is to be removed to a projected landfill in Hanwella, which is located very close to the Ambatale tank and not too far from Labugama and Kalatuwawa as well, said Mr. de Silva. An Environment Impact Assessment was done in November 1997. Yet, there have already been so many objections from people in the area, he added.

"In the developed parts of the world landfills are being stopped for various reasons. There is nothing called successful landfills. Leaching of filled in lands occurs even many years after. Therefore landfills should be a solution, only, when no other is available," explained the concerned environmentalist. "And another point is that landfills are normally created on flat lands in dry climates, here they are putting it in rocky terrain situated on sloping land, in an area receiving 2,500mm of rain."

Mr. Roy Jayasinghe, Project Director, Colombo Environment Improvement Project, said "the landfill site was selected after examining a number of sites. We haven't had a proper strategy or plan for the disposal of garbage for the last six years or so."He said that now a proper strategy of waste management had been formulated. "Primary collection, transfer stations, long term transport, composting and then the balance to be put in a landfill. At present there are more than 65 disposal sites on marshy lands. And the Kelani river is being polluted day by day, being used as a dump for waste from sewage lines."

Tissa de Silva meanwhile has presented a proposal to introduce the GARBY system in six wards in Greater Colombo and the suggestion has gone before the environmental committee. "We are saying that the GARBY unit is only an initial first step to help householders in the direction of disposal of organic garbage. Converting to bio-gas, composting etc. and in the case of paper and plastics recycling are among the options available. And in an era of rapid technological development, solutions are sure to be found for converting of all waste material as long as they are preserved in unalloyed form. This is why it is important to educate the public on separating waste materials."

The team of graduates working with Tissa de Silva are Parakrama Perera, Renuka Fernando, Deshani Wickramasinghe, Champa Gamage and Ekanayake Gunawardena.

"Colombo is a garden city, therefore there is no difficulty in finding areas to use as collection centres. Even 1/2 acre is enough for this purpose. In France they use very small areas sometimes covered areas for this purpose and it in no way affects the residents of those areas," explained Mr de Silva. The neighbourhood of this environmentally concerned consultant engineer augured well for the possibilities of making Sri Lanka a cleaner and more healthy country. As I looked back at a garden where a pony grazed it seemed as if at least in this suburban neighbourhood the people cared for a quality lifestyle.

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