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The buss word vibrating in town is waste management. There is enough stench
in the air for public to feel something is not right. This reminds us of the adage
comments are free but facts are sacred. The public make all sort of comments
about why solid waste management practices in Sri Lanka are not effective and
even some suggest how this issue could be resolved. All comments count for the
debate. However, the real fact is that everyone is a part of the problem and
everyone has a role to play in the solution. Until this is understood, nothing is
going to work.
The author believes that many either dont have or dont reveal proper
understanding about the issue as well as the scientific and engineering basis of
solid waste management. The author had spent 24 years in both Sri Lankan and
overseas local government sectors and seen the good, the bad and the ugly
nature of waste management processes. The author has no intention to exhume
waste management skeletons buried in the Sri Lankan Local Government sector.
To control this media circus, the Government must appoint a single agency
spokesperson to announce proposed Government action plans and direct public
feedback to that agency.
This article is an attempt to describe who the stakeholders of the waste crisis are
and what their roles should be. It includes technological options available to
address the issue and also an example of a domestic waste collection process
practised in Australia, although Sri Lanka is yet to be ready to adopt that option.
Disaster
Lets face the reality first. The catastrophic failure of Meethotamulla garbage
dump has awakened both the subjects and the rulers. The damage has already
happened. The Local Government authorities are now busy with controlling the
effect of the damage while trying to secure own survival.
Having said that, what should the authorities do next to resolve waste collection
and disposal issue? It is a two-step process. First, the problem must be analysed
and the scientific and engineering basis of waste management must be
understood. Thereafter, the practical and sustainable options/solutions must be
taken accordingly.
Prediction
There was a news item last year October that as of 1 November 2016, Municipal
Councils around the country will refrain from collecting household garbage if it is
not sorted. The author wrote an article to the Institution of Engineers newsletter
on this and predicted this would not work and the long-term reaction from the
residents would be the disposal of garbage at the nearest unauthorised dumping
point, if the authorities refuse to collect non-sorted garbage. Also the author
warned that if this happens, seriousness of social health impacts would outweigh
the burden of collecting non-sorted garbage. As predicted, it happened.
The author could not find a Sri Lankan Government document outlining a waste
classification system for Sri Lanka, specifying environmental compliance
requirements for each waste category. The lifestyle of Sri Lankans is increasingly
becoming that of the developed country residents thanks to the continual influx
of foreign products and busy lifestyles. Hence, it is better to research on
international waste classification systems and then adopt one for Sri Lanka, if a
classification system is yet to be developed.
Until the late 90s, developed countries had a popular waste destination called
engineered sanitary landfill sites. However, in 1999, the European Commission
issued the directive 1999/31/EC, thus, banning disposal of putrescible waste into
sanitary landfills. In addition, governments tightened environmental
regulations on allowed waste disposal in landfills. Hence, operation of a sanitary
landfill facility became a costly business even to the local authorities who general
spend rate payer funds lavishly. This situation led waste management authorities
to find alternative solutions. In Sri Lanka, unfortunately, the attention to the
alternative waste technologies eventually required a cataclysmic disaster, costing
lives.
Barriers to AWMT
Private sector business ventures rely on the continuous, on-time supply of high
quality and quantity waste materials. As of now, the municipal waste collections
in Sri Lanka are managed by the Local Government authorities. As the
management practices of Local Government are rigid, this is a risky business for
the private investors. To overcome this barrier, the establishment of an efficient
Waste Management Authority is highly recommended.
By nature, the waste feed stocks are scattered across districts and provinces,
making it costly to collect and transport to a central location. Often the feed
stocks are not homogenous, resulting in poor quality end products from the
waste treatment process. Hence, the local collection and sorting processes of
waste material need to be carefully organised to make these processes efficient
and effective.
Biochemical processing involves the anaerobic digestion of waste and the waste
material is confined to an environment of less oxygen to allow digestion. The
outputs of this process would be chemical feedstocks such as disintegrated waste
enriched with nutrients which can be used as fertiliser. When waste is subjected
to chemical processing, the chemical reactions such as fermentation and
esterification would take place. The output products of this process would be
ethanol and biodiesel.
Landfill technologies: Engineered sanitary landfills are the most common waste
disposal method. Methane capture for energy production is the main
technological application for a landfill. Methane would be generated inside a
landfill for 15-20 years. Methane production is dependent on anaerobic
conditions. Hence, the waste landfill must be properly designed and enclosed
using geo-textile membranes to form airtight waste cells to promote anaerobic
condition.
The production of milk bottle would be a simple example to illustrate the rational
thinking process. When the design is in progress, the designers should investigate
on material options (metal, glass or plastic), material recyclability or degradability
and the product packaging requirements, at the least.
A prime example is that the supermarkets have collection bins for used plastic
shopping bags. Similarly, mobile phone retail outlets have collection bins for
discarded mobile phones and lithium batteries. Some Western Government
institutions adopt return to the sender policy by sending back the received
documents to the sender (after keeping a digital copy).
The product importer: In Sri Lanka, anyone can import any product without
considering waste disposal options. In fact, the product importers should be
responsible for every step of the product life cycle to a certain degree.
The argument here is that the importer earns a profit by importing and selling a
product. Then, the importer knowingly transfers the responsibility of managing
undesirable product impacts to the user and the local government, knowing the
effects from the products during the rest of the product life cycle. This is not a fair
transaction. One can argue that user should take the responsibility but definitely
it should not be the local authority.
Government should make importers accountable for their products within its
whole lifecycle (Production, Use and Disposal) as the current set-up only
encourages irresponsible importation of products, without any consideration for
the impact to the society or the environment. Importing used vehicles to Sri
Lanka is a classic example of such. Some countries have imposed a ban on this.
The product user: Before buying a product, the user also must think how to
handle the waste generated from the product. If there is no pre-arrangement in
place by the producer or the importer of the product to collect the residual
product/waste, the responsibility of managing waste shifts to the buyer and user.
Generally public incinerate or bury under the ground waste products. Before
doing so, the product user must investigate whether incineration or the burying is
the correct disposal method. Some may opt to leave waste products for the
municipal authorities to collect of course, if the authorities are willing to collect
and dispose such waste behalf of public.
The message is that unnecessary and avoidable service burdens should not be
thrusted upon the public service organisations as it would cost all ratepayer
equally in the long run. Hence, responsible products buying habits would benefit
all, in the long run.
The residual product (waste) collector: Traditionally Local Government authorities
are responsible to collect and manage solid waste. However, this is a primitive
concept. One should question why only a Local Government authority is
responsible to collect a residual product, if the product was owned by someone
else and also it was not produced by the authority, in the first place. Hence, it
should, at least, be a joint responsibility of all to manage the product within its life
cycle.
Incineration of waste is only economically viable if the waste has low moisture
content. Waste processing includes dealing with the by-products as well.
Methane gas generated in landfills can be extracted through a strategically placed
piping and collection wells system. Methane can be used for energy production.
Methane extraction offers in-direct advantages as well. Entrapped methane can
cause instant spot fires emitting toxic by-products. Also, entrapped methane can
even cause explosions. Methane usually absorbs into cloths/garments. This can
result in unhealthy and unpleasant living conditions to nearby residents and
landfill operators.
The selected site must be especially pre-prepared to receive waste. The site can
be a flat ground or a valley. Both options have their own pros and cons. The
important aspect is that the waste should not physically touch the ground and the
gaseous products generated from waste should not enter to atmosphere at
excessive levels. The separation is done by placing waterproof geo-textile
material. Leachate liquid and methane gas collection piping systems and
extraction wells would be placed progressively while waste deposition is in
progress. Methane and leachate extraction pump systems are also to be installed.
Methane processing plants are to be built to harness energy. Each waste layer is
compacted and covered with a soil layer to create anaerobic condition inside the
landfill.
Also, the buffer zone of the waste landfill should have a series of test pits to
periodically check the ground water quality. Metering stations are to be set up to
detect methane emission levels which should not be above acceptable levels.
In NSW, Australia, late 90s, there was a major drive to reduce garbage sent to
landfills by 60%. Regional Waste Boards were set up under the NSW Waste
Minimisation Act 1995 and local councils received funding and staff to implement
sorting of garbage at the source actions. This Act was replaced later with Waste
Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2001. In 2003, a new strategy was
introduced and the targets were revised for municipal, commercial and
construction to 66%, 63% and 76% respectively. This strategy was further revised
in 2007, 2010 and 2011. This proves that the developed countries are continually
serious about waste avoidance and recycling.
If a resident forgets to place the bin or places it in the wrong direction, the
resident has to wait for another week to get the correctly placed bin collected.
The garbage trucks have GPS tracking systems installed to minimise false
compliant on non-arrival of trucks. In addition, the city councils offer each
resident twice a year major recycled material disposal opportunities, on request.
Also, there are a few bulk electronic and toxic waste disposal days for residents. A
special levy is added to council rates for waste services and the service is carried
out so efficiently.
There are special investigators who check bins randomly whether the correct
garbage is in respective bins. If wrong garbage is inside, there will be a sticker on
the bin, advising the truck driver to not to collect the bin. If anyone disposed
garbage or hazardous waste illegally at a public place, special investigators work
on identifying culprits to take legal action.
Every citizen must be educated on their civic roles from ta he tender age. The
author wishes that all political party representatives get together and develop a
national scheme to educate all kids how to behave in society. To do that,
politicians must be role models first. That is a massive ask. If this becomes reality
one day, then, this scheme can be implemented by social leaders and educators
as children would trust the message coming from well-respected independent
civic leaders. School children also can influence their parents as well to behave as
role models in the society.
Way forward
When the country and the ground conditions are ready, engineers can seek
foreign assistance to obtain resources such as highly-mechanised trucks and funds
for building waste transfer stations, waste transportation systems and engineered
sanitary landfills. Until such time, a well-functioning manual waste collection
process should be in place. Resources for mechanising the operation should only
be sought after that.
Sri Lankan engineering and scientific community must work together to develop a
sound Waste Management Strategy with a scientific and engineering base.
Politicians must support this effort by setting up of policies and legislative
instruments.
The author suggests that there should be an independent Sri Lankan Waste
Management Authority headed by a competent professional civil engineer as the
Director General (DG). The DG must be supported by a director board of
competent geotechnical, chemical, mechanical, electrical and environmental
engineers. It is recommended to have a sociologist, and an economist on board
as advisers for strategic decision making.
The primary purpose of this authority is the development of a Waste
Management Strategy for Sri Lanka and an Action Plan for all local government
authorities to follow. Provincial Sanitary Waste Management Landfills and District
Waste Transfer Stations are to be set up and regulated by this authority.
Operations of Material Recovery and Recycling Plants must also be regulated by
this authority. This agency should conduct community awareness programs on
best practice waste management practices and promote private and public
partnerships on recycling waste.
(The writer is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow and an International Professional
Engineer of Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka with 30 years of experience as a
professional engineer. He can be reached via senevir15@gmail.com.)
Posted by Thavam