A comparative study of alternative waste management practices

Abstract

Kaduwela has become a popular, urbanized and industrialized area in the recent past which has lead to increase in the amount of solid waste generated in the area dramatically. The local authority faced with a severe problem of the final disposal of waste generated everyday.

To overcome the problem, the local authority has started a project with the aim of producing compost and bio gas by using solid waste and to reduce the amount of waste coming out from households. The overall objective of the project is to minimize final disposal of the waste amount by promoting community participation. The specific objectives are to minimize waste that goes for final disposal by treating twenty five tons per day by the end of 2011 and to minimize that comes to waste stream by introducing 3R practices to 5000 households by end of 2011.

Under this project 4200 tons of town waste and market waste per year will be used for composting. 2160 tons of kitchen waste per year will be managed by introducing 3R practices. This includes conducting awareness programmes, distributing compost bins and storing bags, collecting sorted waste and finally selling. Waste from temple is sorted and used for bio gas production.

There are many benefits as well as drawbacks of the project. Receiving mixed waste, no facility for final disposal and lack of public commitment are some of the problems faced by the composting project. Reducing environmental pollution, generating job opportunities and producing alternatives for chemical fertilizer are some of the benefits created by the project.

Poor attitudes of citizens and negligence of workers are problems faced when introducing 3R practices. In addition to that lack of receiving bins continuously and poor maintenance of bins have also created problems. However, introducing 3R practices have many benefits such as improving scenic beauty and reducing health problems. It has the ability to improve social economy. Most importantly it can help to develop the public’s discipline in waste management and to create relation between local authority and citizens.

Receiving mixed waste leads to sending considerable amount of waste to final disposal and degrades quality of compost. Introducing 3R practices is less costly than that of composting. Hence local authority should pay more attention on promoting 3R concepts than composting. Composting is not the sole solution to solve waste problem. It should be a combination of composting, 3R and land filling