News
From waste to waste: Moratuwa MC’s compost plant is a flop
View(s):A multimillion-rupee plant is idling without being put to use for its intended purpose—turning the Moratuwa market waste into compost.
However, the non-functional unit is being maintained on paper with three municipal council employees being deployed, council sources said.
The plant, designed to produce one tonne of compost per month, was constructed with the assistance of the Western Province Solid Waste Management Authority.
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- The Moratuwa market
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- Two of the three municipal council employees
The sources said the plant at the market premises was non-functional because the cost of maintaining it was double the income it generated.
They said some of the machines had suffered mechanical failures, and the council also faced difficulties in selling the compost.
A worker said that one of the main reasons for the project’s failure was the inconvenience caused to customers. They were asked to pay for and obtain a receipt from the council and then travel to the compost yard at the market, which was located at a distance, to collect the packets of compost.
“This discouraged customers,” he said.
The project was a white elephant, Moratuwa Mayor Nishantha Ferdinando said, adding that the issues needed to be rectified.
He also accused the previous administrations of allowing the project to go into neglect.
The mayor said he had plans to introduce more facilities to the Moratuwa market and would not allow the ratepayers’ money to go to waste.
Pix and text by
Rekha Tharangani Fonseka
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