Schools to the fore in waste management

Disna Mudalige

The Environment and Renewable Energy Ministry launched a special solid waste management project in schools in Colombo to collect biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste separately.

The project was inaugurated at Royal College, Colombo with the participation of Environment and Renewable Energy Minister Susil Premajayantha.

The minister said under this project, schoolchildren would be taught about proper waste disposal methods while directing them to separate biodegradables and non-biodegradables before disposal. He said this project would be gradually expanded to include every school in the country. He said a special team would be established in every school to take forward this project successfully.

Premajayantha said schoolchildren would be the best to carry this message to the public at large, as they could persuade their parents to practice this habit even at homes.

He noted gradually the support of all people could be obtained. The minister said solid waste management would be an easy task for local government institutions, if the public adhered to waste separation at the preliminary stage.

"Local Government Authorities concentrated mainly on waste collection and not on waste management. If we can separate waste at household level, we can directly send biodegradables which amount to 75 percent of the total waste collected in the country for composting, while sending the balance 25 percent containing plastics, glass etc for recycling," he said. Several schools in Colombo were distributed orange, green, and blue waste separation bins. Colombo Mayor A J M Muzammil and Royal College Principal H A Upali Gunasekara also participated.