Waste Management in Sri Lanka: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

Most of the developing countries face the problem of managing waste properly. In 2012, cities world over, generated 1.3 billion tons of solid waste per year, amounting to a footprint of 1.2 kilograms per person, per day needless to state that with rapid population growth and urbanization, the municipal waste generation is expected to increase to 2.2 billion tons (MT) by 2025. Inadvertently, with the current trends continuing, it is likely to rise from 3.5 MTs to 6 MTs per day with, each person generating around 0.64 kg waste per day in Sri Lanka with an estimated 4.8 billion MT of waste collected per annum in the country. The main objective of this study is to examine the present situation of solid waste management in Sri Lanka whilst in determining the nature and extent of the problem, thereby identifying the challenges and opportunities towards maintaining a sustainable waste management system in the country. As a result, the study has identified several challenges, of which the absence of waste segregation, poor waste collection mechanisms and the lack of public commitment on waste management, to be some of the underlying causes of the prevailing issue. Thus, the prevailing system on waste collection, transportation and disposal aspects is nevertheless believed to be an issue that needs to be resolved. This is due to the lack of education and awareness amongst the public on waste management, the lack of technical knowledge and the absence of applying 3R principles. In this context, awareness through education and a changing in attitude of the public may be suggested as precautionary methods towards maintaining a sustainable waste management system. The participation of the public is to be quoted as essential, and it should be borne in mind, that this is not a feat that can be accomplished via a limited operation, but rather one which needs to be continued and maintained through ongoing efforts, in keeping the menace at a minimum. Thus, a new model for waste management is required for collection, transportation and the disposal of waste, which should not be harmful to the society nor to the environment. The existing waste management policy of the country should be further developed by considering the concept of zero waste, alternative waste management approaches like waste to energy, sanitary landfills and the acceleration of composting methodology, thereby leading the pathway towards enhanced sustainability.

Reflection of Environmental Citizenship Behaviour through Domestic Waste Disposal Practices: Examination on Youth in Sri Lanka

“…Lord Buddha was the religious leader who practiced environmentally friendly lifestyle and inculcated those practices among his followers. However, Sri Lanka generates 8500MT of solid waste per day approximately and each person generates an average of 0.4 to 1 kg of waste per day (Dharmasiri, 2019). Waste collection and disposal responsibilities are assigned to the local authorities, Municipal Councils; Urban Councils and Pradeshiya Sabha.…”

“…Many studies have examined the household waste disposal behavior with respect to waste management in developing and developed contexts and identified the factors (education; gender; age; social influence; household characteristics; living standards) affecting waste disposal behavior of households (Kumara and Pallegedara, 2020). Composition Surveys (WACS) conducted by the University of Peradeniya (2014), revealed that, nearly three fourth of total waste is generated from kitchens however, composting mechanism does not functioning in a proper manner (Dharmasiri, 2019). The collection of MSW in the country is very poor except in three main Municipal Councils; Colombo, Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia and Kotte which has about 50% collection value.…”

“…The collection of MSW in the country is very poor except in three main Municipal Councils; Colombo, Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia and Kotte which has about 50% collection value. The collection value for other parts of the country is generally 10-15% (Dharmasiri, 2019). On this point, more than 50 percent of total household wastes are managed by the respective households.…”

“…Because of waste collection arrangement, individuals do not make active effort to minimize waste generation; they believe that the authorities need to do necessities with their wastes. As Dharmasiri (2019) insisted, if the present rate of waste production goes on without a proper waste management system, there will be significant negative impacts on the quality of the environment. The graphic (pie chart) demonstrates that respondents with higher level of eco-initiative, applicability of composting the waste is relatively high.…”

Application of Life Cycle Framework for Municipal Solid Waste Management: a Circular Economy Perspective from Developing Countries

“…For instance, an open dumping site in Sri Lanka collapsed in 2016, revealing the short-sighted, unsustainable waste management strategies [2,3]. While most of the decisions in MSW management are driven by political and economic terms [4][5][6], waste composition, socio-economic, and environmental impacts are given limited attention during this process. Due to land scarcity factors, urban planning agencies became responsible for the ownership of waste disposal sites in Sri Lanka such that waste management was not only a matter of economics or environment, but also a spatial planning problem.…”