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Debris the dimping disaster
By N. Dilshath Banu
The bodies of people who fell victim to the tsunami have been buried and survivors are picking up the pieces of their shattered lives. Nearly one-and-a-half months have passed and it is the time of rebuilding. But before rebuilding, comes the crucial question: What should be done with the mountains of rubble and debris that have piled up along the coastline?

Some debris has already been sorted out and used to fill foundations and for other purposes. But where will the balance debris and rubble be dumped? How will it be disposed of?

Much of it is being dumped in low-lying areas, The Sunday Times found, posing a major environmental hazard that needs to be addressed immediately. For if such unplanned dumping continues Sri Lanka will soon face another disaster - floods.

"With the help of the municipal councils of Colombo, Dehiwela-Mount Lavinia and Sri Jayewardenepura-Kotte, we are able to clear the debris. However, some of the cumbersome debris is being moved to low marshy lands," Galle Mayor A.R.I. Arif Ismail said.

Kalmunai Municipal Commissioner M.Y. Salim explained that his area was divided into two -- Saindamarudu and Kalmunai Kudy. "In Saindamarudu, Goal, an international NGO is clearing the debris, while the government has sent machinery to clear Pandiruppu, Marudamunai, Nilavani and Islamabad in Kalmunai Kudy. Part of the debris is dumped in privately owned paddy fields in Kalmunai Kudy, as most areas are cultivated only for one season."

He said he had earmarked 22 acres of paddy land for this scheme and was able to get five acres from landowners at Rs. 2 million, though normally an acre costs about Rs. 3-4 lakhs. "Landowners have not asked for the money due to them and we are in the process of assessing the value of the land," he said.

Hambantota, too, faces a similar problem of what to do with the debris. Urban Council Chairman D. A. Gamini said the council had cleared about 90% of the debris but admitted a lot more had to be done. "We have dumped some of the debris in the forest bordering the Gonnoruwa Road. Though the forest comes under the Wildlife Conservation Department we have not discussed this matter with it. We are hoping to do so in the future."

Wildlife Conservation Department Deputy Director H.D. Ratnayake said, "Under the law it is illegal to dump waste in forests without permission. However, there are 'no-man lands' in the forest, which sometimes can be used for such purposes. The CEA has guidelines on such instances."

Trincomalee Urban Council Chairman S. Arumainayagam said: "We got machinery and labour from local authorities in unaffected areas to clear the debris." As for the disposal of the debris, he said some of it had been used to fill low-lying areas."

While local councils in the tsunami-affected areas are grappling with the problem of debris, the Environment and Natural Resources Ministry, The Sunday Times learns, has drafted guidelines for the disposal of debris. But how soon will the guidelines be implemented? Will they come too late to prevent an environmental disaster?

The ministry's Pollution Control Director L. Padmini Batuwitage said that in the early stages, the tsunami devastation was seen as a social problem rather than an environmental problem.

"The focus was on identifying and burying bodies and providing assistance to the affected people rather than dealing with the debris. But we were keeping in mind the environmental hazards."

She said all the things that could be reused or recycled should be made use of and disposal should be the last option. "Building materials such as bricks and door frames which were not destroyed could be reused. At some places, bricks and other materials which are in good shape are collected by the people. Some even sell them. These materials can be used in the construction of buildings and buffers along the shore. A cement company has offered its help to burn some of the unsorted plastic, with less environmental danger," Ms. Batuwitage said.

Explaining the ministry guidelines she said they dealt with "demolished construction waste" in the tsunami-affected areas and did not pertain to "construction waste management" as prevention takes priority in waste management. "In this case, the waste material is already there. The guidelines for proper construction waste management will be developed later and include a waste reduction process."

The ministry is also implementing a programme to assess the environmental damage caused by the tsunami. The programme focuses on two areas - the ecosystem and the physical structure or buildings.

Ms. Batuwitage disclosed that in the absence of proper landfills, the local authorities are compelled to dump the debris in low-lying areas. "Wetlands are important in the eco-system and act as a protective cover. Even though everyone is generating waste, they are reluctant to sacrifice their lands for the debris. The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) and the Urban Development Authority (UDA) are collaborating to find proper landfill sites."

However, UDA's Planning and Operations Director-General Prasanna Silva said the programme to assess environmental damage had a component for identification of land for disposal of rubble. "We are responsible for redevelopment, housing and townships. The CEA has undertaken to assess the lands," he said.

Another fear is that water collecting among the heaps of rubble and debris could turn into mosquito breeding spots. "There's a danger of mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, malaria and filaria spreading in these areas. We are monitoring the situation," said Dr. Paba Palihawadana, Deputy Epidemiologist of the Epidemiological Unit of the Ministry of Health.

There are programmes to spray pesticides for mosquitoes and flies around the camps. Another example is the anti-dengue campaign in Hambantota. "People too need to be vigilant. If they find any area that could become a mosquito-breeding ground, they should bring it to our notice," she adds.

Where will the rainwater go?
If the marshes are filled with rubble, there's no place for the rainwater or floodwater to be retained and even a small shower can result in a flood, warns the World Conservation Union (IUCN).

When Sri Lanka has heavy rainfall, the water that fills up rivers does not drain away immediately. So there should be a place where this water can be retained until it drains slowly into the sea.

Marshlands are very important because they carry out this task, says M. Sandun J. Perera, IUCN's Assistant Programme Officer for Ecosystems and Livelihoods Group.

"We will have to identify some barren lands, which are in high areas and not use low-lying areas for rubble disposal," he says adding that even the volume of waste dumped in barren lands should be minimized as much as possible. Sorting out the waste would be costly but that is the best solution.

According to IUCN there are two types of marshland in Sri Lanka -- fresh water marshlands and brackish marshlands. The salt marshes located in Rekawa and Walipatanwila along the coastline have been affected by the tsunami, due to sand depositions.

How to use demolished construction waste

Recovery & reuse - Separate each type (brick, roofing material, cement blocks, wooden materials etc.) and store carefully for reuse
Recycling & reuse - Mixed construction waste should be taken to a strategic location to be crushed. The crushed material can then be used for filling, levelling, landscaping, as base material for roads (under certain conditions) and also as buffers against sea erosion

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