CEA head not happy with waste disposal

Disna Mudalige

Central Environmental Authority (CEA) chairman Wimal Rubasinghe said he was not satisfied with the progress on solid waste management in Sri Lanka.

He said except in a few local government bodies, the common method followed by most local government bodies in solid waste disposal is to bury it.

Rubasinghe said 60 to 75 percent of the solid waste collected daily in the country is being buried in this manner.

He said a successful solid waste management is impossible unless there is a systematic separation of solid waste.

Rubasinghe said a few local government bodies have initiated environment friendly methods such as compost production and recycling by separation of solid waste, adding that such moves need to be further promoted.

He said Environment and Renewable Energy Minister Susil Premajayantha stressed on the need to promote the habit of waste separation before disposed from households, while instructing to take measures to achieve this goal within the next two years for an effective management of solid waste. The chairman said house to house awareness campaigns would be launched for this purpose shortly.

Rubasinghe said a greater percentage of domestic waste could have been reduced if the people were encouraged to make compost from biodegradable waste. He said unsafe garbage dumping on roads and barren lands should be avoided, adding that it would also help curb the dengue menace. He said CEA attention has been directed towards implementing a proper disposal mechanism for used CFL and tube lights considering the serious health and environment hazards posed by them.