Fllowing the intervention of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, high officials involved in the garbage business are trying to come up with a solution to the problem of waste disposal.
President Rajapaksa has called for a meeting on Tuesday between the Urban Development, Environment and Local Government ministries and the private companies which are handling solid waste management.
The presidential intervention follows a collapse of a huge garbage mountain in Colombo’s Bloemendhal Road site, causing damage to several slum dwellings.
“The President advised my ministry to take serious note of the waste disposal problem in the Western Province and the districts of Kandy and Galle and come up with a solution after talks with officials of the private companies and others,” Urban Development Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said.
The Sunday Times learns that a new bill will be introduced setting out guidelines and rules in garbage disposal and solid waste management.
Environment Ministry’s Pilisaru Project Director Jayawilal Fernando said that only a fraction of the garbage could be turned into compost while the rest should be used for recycling or power generation projects.
“The biggest problem is finding land suitable to dump garbage,” he said.
|
E-mail