Large scale landfills, composting projects to manage waste disposal

Chamikara Weerasinghe

The Government will introduce large-scale landfills and composting projects to manage waste disposal in cities from next year.

The Director General of Central Environment Authority, Pasan Gunasena yesterday said, they are acquiring lands for setting up landfills to regularise solid waste disposing in keeping with its waste management programme, Pilisaru.

"Steps will be taken to introduce fifteen large scale composting projects and 29 mini composting projects alongside with the landfills," said Director Gunasena.

He said, the majority of local authorities have responded favourably to the Pilisaru Waste Management Programme regardless of political differences since the programme's inauguration in March by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Pilisaru is expected to address the problem of solid waste management in the country with a national approach and it calls for all -around participation from local authorities to manage waste disposal on a firm footing.

Gunasena said, the Treasury has released Rs. 1.1 billion for the project activities this year and the Central Environment Authority will have spent Rs. 5.6 billion by the time it is concluded in 2010.

Commenting on the benefits of Pilisaru, he said, "we expect to reduce the use of chemical fertiliser as with the project's intended composting component."

"We will be in a position to recover recyclables through large scale composting and also be able to produce organic fertiliser," he explained.

"Besides we want to encourage organic farming as against the use of chemical fertiliser," he said."