Seethawakapura UC’s success story in garbage disposal

Disna MUDALIGE

We must ourselves carve out solutions for the problems created by us. Instant or ready made solutions may not be available for them. The problems which have become complicated due to long years of negligence and inaction would be impossible to be solved overnight. However, saying that, it is not prudent for all of us to just sit and worry assuming that nothing can be changed. If you wish to bring about a change leading to a long lasting solution, you must at least begin somewhere.

ILO Green Jobs National Project Coordinator Shyama Salgado

This line of thought I believe suits the efforts of 'garbage' or as now referred 'solid waste' management in Sri Lanka. As estimated the daily waste generation in our country amounts to about 6,700 tons. However, as reported only about 2,800 tons of waste is being collected daily. The per capita solid waste generation in Sri Lanka is 0.4kgs.

The solid waste has become a real menace in the Western Province. The daily waste collection from the Western Province is over 1,600 tons. Local Government Authorities (LGAs) in Sri Lanka are responsible for collection and disposal of waste generated by the people within their territories. This provision is made in the Local Government Act.

However, LGAs alone are unable to cope with this menace due to lack of financial, technological and human resources and knowledge. The assistance of the Central Government and NGOs concentrating on this aspect is much needed for this task. The efforts of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Green Jobs Project in Sri Lanka to push forward the country for a positive change in the solid waste sector with the coordination of all relevant stakeholders is praiseworthy in this light.

Green Jobs project

“The ILO launched its Green Jobs in Asia programme in Sri Lanka in the last half of 2010. Sri Lanka chapter is one among five Asian countries where this project operates. The other four countries are Indonesia, Philippines, Bangladesh and Nepal. In the Sri Lankan project, we have focused the waste sector, while Bangladesh project focuses on solar paneling, Philippines on green constructions and Indonesia on eco-tourism. Globally we look at eight key sectors. They are fisheries, agriculture, forestry, fishing, energy, resource-intensive manufacturing, recycling, building and transport”, Green Jobs National Project Coordinator Shyama Salgado explained.

This timely project addresses the issues in the solid waste sector in a more planned and practical manner. The most common method of disposing the solid waste collected is open dumping, which has led to numerous environmental and health issues. Production of compost from the municipal waste is one recommended option for the LGAs to follow. However, to initiate such a project, the waste should be separated into bio-degradables and non-biodegradables. About 55 to 60 percent of the waste collected in Sri Lanka consists of bio-degradable parts.

Waste can be separated during the collection and at the dumping site. For that, the LGAs must be provided with necessary equipment and trained workers. The ILO under the Green Job project extends its support to selected LGAs to convert the waste into a valuable resource through value addition.

It also concentrates on the welfare of lower level workers in the waste sector such as waste collectors and separators of whom the majority are informal workers.

Presently, the project is confined itself to the Western province and three project sites have been earmarked for improvements, namely, the Karadiyana dumpsite, Pohorawatte site which is about to launch its compost project and the Seethawakapura site.

Success story

At the Seethawakapura site in Avissawella, Green Job project works closely with the Seethawakapura Urban Council and the Western Province Waste Management Authority (WPWMA) for improvements in the waste sector. Seethawakapura UC chairman R M S Premalal Pinthu said that about 1000kgs of compost is being produced daily at their compost site. One kilogram of compost is being sold at Rs12.50, and for the buyers who want for more than 50kgs, 1kg is being sold at Rs10. The UC sells about 200-300kgs of compost daily in small scale. With the intervention of the Green Jobs, the UC has improved the standard of the compost to meet the standards of the plantation sector, and is awaiting the Tea Research Institute and Rubber Research Institute recommendation. Once this was awarded, the UC would initiate partnerships with plantation companies to secure a ready market of 2000 metric tons per year for their compost.

Waste separators in Seethawakapura UC at work

Moreover, the UC has now moved forward to sell collected waste food to poultry farms in the region. The chairman said that about Rs 1,200 is being earned daily from this move, and he looked forward to expand it further. The UC also earns an additional income by selling waste plastics. Progressing in this task, the UC hopes to sell crushed plastics which have a better market in the near future. Looking at the issues of lower level waste sector workers in a more human angle, the UC has also provisioned an allowance for them from the substantial incomes it receives from the waste sector initiatives as mentioned above. With the help of Green Jobs project, these workers are also provided with a uniform which include boots and a head cover for their occupational safety and health. Some workers have adjusted to this uniform where as some need more time.

Salgado observed that Seethawakapura UC is a fine example for other LGAs to learn the potential benefits by converting waste into a resource through value addition.

Green Jobs has been conducting a training programme for all the lower level workers of the waste sector in all 48 LGAs in the Western province with the support of WPWMA, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and LGAs.

Salgado observed that by end of June, all 4,000 workers would have completed the training. In this training, personal hygiene, health, occupational safety and welfare of the workers are being concentrated. It also holds medical camps for them with the coordination of the WPWMA. She noted that a tremendous change in workers could be observed after the training, where they have embraced good practices for their personal safety and hygiene at and after work.

Salgado also stressed that community attitude towards these workers should also be changed. These workers and their families should not be looked down and their social status must be uplifted. She noted that their invaluable service must be well recognized and formalized.

Attitudinal change

To obtain a long lasting solution for the solid waste problem in Sri Lanka, an attitudinal change in the people with regard to 'garbage' is essential. People must be educated to separate household waste and to make compost to use in their home gardening and other cultivations. Time has come to stop collecting all garbage into one polythene bag, tie it from the two corners, and carry it using just two fingers stretching out your hand as far as possible to dump or hang it on the roadside.

Without expecting the LGAs to carry all the waste generated in our household, we all must make an effort to reduce household waste through recycling and composting. As found out, 30 percent of the household waste can be reduced by these means.

We are all part of this society. Each of us should shoulder this responsibility without distancing ourselves from the general reference as ‘public’ or ‘people’. Every message targeting the general public also counts on you and even me. Let’s work together for a clean environment.