THE GARBAGE ECONOMY
STINKING TO HIGH HEAVEN!
Zulfath Saheed laments the slow progress in waste disposal efforts
On any given day, Greater Colombo produces up to 800 metric tons of solid waste that usually end up in a garbage dump in the outskirts of the city. But with the societal disposition being one of ‘out of sight, out of mind,’ citizens tend to wake up to the reality of the problems caused by municipal solid waste only when protests – such as those that took place in Ja-Ela recently – or major garbage dump fires (as witnessed in Badulla) hit the headlines.
The scale of the problem is no doubt immense, and with accelerated development (in the post-war era) comes the added burden of a consumer culture and the corresponding increase in trash. This would mean that dealing with garbage-related issues will require solutions not only in the near term, but also those that cater to more long-term realities.
MEGAPOLIS IMPACT The government’s plans to create a megapolis in the Western Province envision ‘comprehensive upgrades, overhauls and enhancements across all sectors.’ Meanwhile, environmentalists have urged the relevant authorities to adopt a long-term strategy for garbage disposal as part of the Megapolis development agenda.
Initial plans to transport waste from Colombo to Puttalam under the Megapolis development programme faced stumbling blocks owing to public protests as well as environmental concerns about the recommended site. At the same time, it is reported that a project to dispose of garbage in a sanitary landfill located in Muthurajawela could take an additional two years to be completed.
Earlier in the year, reports revealed government plans to even introduce a ‘garbage tax,’ in a bid to consolidate the process of public waste collection. This was to be a flat charge imposed through local government bodies on households and commercial establishments, for the collection and disposal of garbage either by private sector service providers or through public-private partnerships (PPPs).
But these plans appear to have been shelved at least for the time being, presumably on account of already existing concerns over taxation policy!
WASTE SEGREGATION Then in November, municipal councils across the island launched a programme to collect only properly sorted solid waste from residences and corporate establishments alike. Citizens were requested to segregate their organic and inorganic waste, which was to be collected separately. Items identified as ‘recyclable’ included paper, cardboard, polythene, plastic, glass, metal and rubberised items, and coconut shells.
State institutions were also instructed to follow this programme – implemented in line with a concept developed by the Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils and the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development – for solid waste disposal.
REGIONAL MODELS In terms of examples from the South-East Asian region, in addition to implementing garbage separation and recycling programmes of its own, Thailand’s Environment Ministry introduced ‘plastic bag-free days’ for the country’s retail sector.
Now in its second year of operation, this initiative has increased its frequency from monthly to weekly and looks to stem the use of plastic bags by 88 million units this year, according to a report by Nikkei Asian Review.
Moreover, to tackle the pervasive issue of residential waste, the city of Surabaya in Indonesia has promoted a household compost programme that has seen the participation of 60,000 homes across the city.
WHAT A WASTE The World Bank (WB) points out that “a generation ago, many cities around the world didn’t have comprehensive solid waste management programmes. Organic waste was fed to animals and packaging waste hardly existed. But today, due to growing populations, rapid urbanisation and economic development, managing trash has become one of the most pressing issues facing the planet.”
In 2012, WB sounded the alarm in its flagship report titled ‘What a Waste,’ which predicted a 70 percent increase in urban garbage by 2025. “Municipal solid waste management [MSW] is the most important service a city provides… Despite its importance, reliable global MSW information is not typically available. Data is often inconsistent, incomparable and incomplete,” it adds.
The report also observed that “the global impacts of solid waste are growing fast. Solid waste is a large source of methane, a powerful GHG [greenhouse gas] that is particularly impactful in the short term. The recycling industry, with more than two million informal waste pickers, is now a global business with international markets, and extensive supply and transportation networks.”
GROUND REALITIES Uncollected solid waste can contribute to flooding, air pollution and public health impacts such as respiratory ailments, diarrhoea and dengue fever, the economic fallout of which only adds to the state’s public expenditure burden.
Thus, improving solid waste management – particularly in low to middle-income nations such as Sri Lanka – is an urgent need and may even generate additional employment opportunities that spawn a ‘garbage economy.’
Managing waste is within the control of human administrators and the public. Hence, any harmful outcomes from such ineffective waste management are mainly attributed to negligence of society.
Polythene clogged drains is a practical example. We undergo it first hand on a heavy rainy day, when sidewalks and roads are flooded after a few minutes, with dirty water soaking up our feet on the way to school or office. It is then that we get to know the plight of our waste and how cumbersome it can be with poor drain management, regardless of the quality of roads. Further, there will be no use in having well maintained roads, if its side-lines are ignored. Though our roads are cleaned daily, experts say that waste-like stench is generally high.
Most of the times, drains too are encroached where a small kiosk is put up, thus restricting the supervision and cleaning up of the drain beneath. Sometimes, unauthorised houses and constructions close to railway lines run side businesses that emit dirt and oil, which clogs drains. The actions of one person, household or business can cause more trouble than imagined.
It again confirms that effective waste management is linked to, and should be taken up with other aspects such as maintenance of infrastructure and attitude of the public.
The entire waste management strategy needs to be looked at from a different angle that is beyond ‘garbage’ and urbanisation.
Recycling is seemingly costly; also is upcycling, but such processes can be used to make other value added products. Such upcycled products are more appealing and trendy in the eyes of the consumer. Perceived to have a higher utility value, they are likely to realise a commercial value.
It is also a solid trending concept, especially where certain metal and other scarce resources are concerned, as these can be used as inputs or raw material to produce other goods. In the South Asian region, kitchen oil used in restaurants are collected and transformed to sources of valuable energy.
If people are made aware and convinced on options for recycling and were rewarded simultaneously, they will be able to make an extra income of it. Then, the public too will look at garbage and waste disposal from a better perspective. When the general public understand the big picture, they are likely to be more attentive and be cooperative with the waste management process and garbage collectors.
Lesser the amount of energy burnt, lesser the greenhouse gases emitted, the better concerning the environmental and even economic factors.
The proposed garbage tax may generate the revenue required for waste disposal. The ultimate solution for productive waste lies in a long term sustainable strategy. For this, private and public partnership is a mandatory element.
Recently, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Management introduced a garbage segregation programme for the public. Garbage is supposed to be collected separately by two separate parties, the municipal council and a private firm. Some of you may agree that irrespective of our compliance on segregation amid our household chores – the non-organic waste collectors never came. Some complain that these collectors were irregular which ended up with garbage piling up in homes and offices.
On the other hand, municipal garbage collectors are of the view that only a minority of residents follow the segregation rules and requirements. Hence these workers can only do their job and are not in a position to convince the majority of wrongdoers. As such, they are left with no option but to collect the combined waste as usual.
MSW have stated that fines are imposed and legal action will be taken for non-compliance. But the initiating authorities which need to lead by example seem to dump the very concept. They need to prove themselves first, as to how strong and productive these authorities are on this waste disposal strategy.
In Sri Lanka, many households make compost from biodegradable waste such as garden fallen dry leaves and flowers. Yet, harmful creatures like rats are known for attacking such bins. So people are left with no option but to dump the idea of homemade compost to reduce rat menace in their surroundings.
In Sri Lanka, companies talk about engagement with customers and stakeholders. As such, these companies can come forward and transform this issue with their consumers, initiating it as one of their CSR projects. In supermarket chains and retails outlets, a transparent box can be kept for collecting polythene shopping bags. These used bags can be recycled, to reduce the amount of bags consumed, assuming this concept is put to use island wide.
Customers who dump their reused bags in a separate box provided in the store can be given a small discount from the total bill. This can encourage people to reuse bags as much as they can.
This problem and even waste cannot be simply dumped and finished. Therefore the solution to this issue should be far sighted, practical and economical, and should be one that can be continued.