It’s time we commended the paththara bothal karayas

Nilusha Lakmali Patabendi and Varuna Rathnabharathie

The vital role played by the paththara bothal karayas or waste collectors who diligently visit homes to collect bottles, papers or those who go through garbage to squeeze out a living should in fact be applauded and assisted. Motivating and managing their contribution to society would make Sri Lanka cleaner and the collectors themselves prosperous.

The solid waste problem in Sri Lanka is becoming a major environmental threat that affects the environment, society and economy.

Approximately 80% of municipal domestic solid waste produced in Sri Lanka consists of organic waste, including food and garden waste and the balance is paper, plastics, glass, metals and other inorganic materials.

These can be collected and sold which means they have great potential to be managed through informal waste collection. Though informal solid waste collection plays a major role in solid waste management, it has not been yet given adequate attention in national plans and policies.

Colombo is the most affected area facing a severe crisis in respect to the disposal of solid waste material because of rapid urbanisation, changing lifestyles and industrial development which have increased consumption as well as the amount of waste generated.

Year 2008 was declared the International Year of Sanitation (IYS) by the United Nations General Assembly and improvement of informal waste collection can contribute significantly to the objectives of the IYS.

Expansion and progress of the informal waste collection enhance the sustainability and effectiveness of available sanitation solutions. The result is to improve health impacts, social and cultural acceptance, technological and institutional appropriateness, and the protection of the environment and natural resources.

Practical Action, an international non governmental organisation, has done a study in the Galle City about informal waste collectors very recently, which reveals important findings.

Accumulation of waste in the environment is a global issue and some countries have used different strategies depending on the nature of the problem. One such example is Egypt, where the government has provided pick up vehicles for informal waste collectors and given good social recognition to them, which means that their work is valued and respected.

A waste collection system may include door to door collection in which the householder does very little with collection from a curbside dumping place or specified collection times when the household brings the waste to the truck.

The main benefit of informal waste collection in a city is that it increases the frequency of collection and the number of collection points and contributes towards the reduction of garbage dumps and encourages reuse or recycling of waste.

Waste pickers, scavengers, informal house to house waste collectors, middle scale waste collectors, large scale plastic polythene and paper recyclers, and waste material exporters can be regarded as actors in the informal waste collection chain.

Waste material can be degradable or non degradable and can be further divided in to compostables, recyclables and disposables.

Plastic, paper, cardboard, glass and metal are common waste material that are collected and sold for recycling or reuse in Sri Lanka. There are about 20-30 waste items that are collect by informal waste collectors from households, shops, and private and governmental offices.

Usually the informal waste collecting sector is neglected by planners and policy makers. This lack of organisation and acknowledgement of the waste collectors gives rise to certain problems like conflicts between collectors and mudalalees.

It also means that some areas may not be covered and there are insufficient storage and transport facilities. Inefficient modes of transportation (bicycles, carts and walking) used in informal waste collection are time consuming and labour intensive.

The areas usually neglected are poor communities because they do not generate the type of waste that collectors can profit from such as plastics, glass bottles and paper.

This also means that dirty or rotting waste, which has no value, will not be collected, and if this is mixed with items that can be recycled they too may be left because the time spent washing them reduces profit.

Informal waste collection plays a very important role the in keeping the city clean but it could be greatly improved by recognising the activity and integrating it into the formal waste collection system.

Networking of informal waste collectors within the sector and with householders, communities, shops and other institutes at the grass root level could be more beneficial for better coordination and sustainability.

It is also necessary to support the existing activities that are taking place and to do this the informal sector must be linked into a value addition chain.

Initial processing activities such as cutting, chopping, shredding, washing, cleaning and sorting must be encouraged to produce greater profits. Furthermore, if informal waste collectors were paid in some way to collect non-reusable waste this would have a major impact on the cities’ streets where garbage often accumulates for weeks.

If informal collectors were acknowledged and respected for their role, and given additional support, such as more options for recycling or waste collection equipment, and transportation they could be even more efficient. Bicycles and carts could be adopted to enhance efficiency of informal waste collection service.

Informal waste collectors in the waste collection chain are influential and isolated group that need more attention and focus towards better functionality and flow of the informal waste collection chain.

Understanding of social and economical issues and problems of informal waste collectors in the sector will be able to bring up their service more valuable and fruitful.