Dirty time-bomb for Muthurajawela

Some 25 five acres of land adjoining the Muthurajawela environmental protection area have been earmarked to dump thousand of tons of garbage from Colombo city – amid warnings by residents and environmentalists that a dirty time bomb was being wired for the people of the area.

In a bid to facilitate the disposal of garbage a special gazette notification was issued under the National Environmental Act.This Act excluded a 400-metre stretch of land running parallel to a water way which was previously reserved under the Muthurajawela environmental protection area.

The extent of land to be set aside for garbage disposal was not immediately known, but it is likely to be not less than twenty five acres.

“Garbage disposal is a complex problem and the Policy Development and Implementation Ministry took the initiative to acquire the land in Muthurajawela,” Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said.

He said initially plans would be put in place to prevent environmental hazards but later ways of generating power from garbage would also be considered.

The Sunday Times learns that CMC officials had discussed the garbage disposal plan when they met President Mahinda Rajapaksa earlier this week.

Colombo Mayor’s chief advisor Sham Nawaz, said they did discuss Colombo’s waste management issues with the President.

“The CMC was facing a crisis in obtaining a place to dump garbage and this area which is nearest to the CMC and belonging to the Wattala Pradeshiya Sabha was suggested. If the suggestion is endorsed we will need the approval from the Central Environment Authority” he said.

Deputy Minister Hussein Bhaila said the Ministry too was was exploring various options in solving Colombo’s garbage crisis.

“It is the duty of the government to provide land to solve this recurring problem and after checking out a few places we finally settled for Muthurjawela as the most suitable for disposing garbage. Some 25 acres of land was released for this purpose,” he said.

The CEA Hazardous Waste Management Unit Director Jayawilal Fernando said some of these areas which were recommended are for commercial purposes including waste management.

“If the total quantity of garbage to be disposed exceeds 100 tons a day, the Municipal Council needs Central Environmental Authority (CEA). The CEA acts as a regulatory body and has to analyse, evaluate, and check the suitability of the available technology before granting approval. The mixed urban zone is a commercial zone. There is not much restriction as long as environmental approval is granted. Even though the 400 metre stretch of land is excluded from the environmental protection area it is still within the buffer zone” he said.

Environmentalists who are up in arms against this decision say that activities like dumping garbage should be handled and managed with caution.

“Instead of moving dumping areas from one place to another and polluting all these areas, isn’t it much better to focus on a new system whereby the garbage could be recycled and used for some useful purpose. Dumping garbage in wetlands may cause major problems especially floods,” the Green Movement’s Director Campaigning and Educating Banduranga Kariyawasam said.

He said the use of alternate methods in garbage disposal might be somewhat costly but in the long run would be more effective.

“The local authorities could get help from private firms which are prepared to join. Just transferring the disposal or dumping area from one to another is not the solution for the daily increasing quantity of garbage” he said.

Jetwing Eco Holidays CEO Gehan de Silva Wijeratne, cautioned that disposing garbage in wet land area runs the greater risk of polluting the ground water more than solving the disposal problem.

“The process will be further accelerated in these areas, especially when you consider the number of canals and underground water pipes. If unattended it could easily turn out to be a time bomb waiting to go off,” he said.