Case Study: Finding Better Solutions for Municipal Solid Waste Management in a Semi Local Authority in Sri Lanka

Bandunee Champika Liyanage¹, Renuka Gurusinghe¹, Sunil Herat², Masafumi Tateda³

¹Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Technology, The Open University of Sri Lanka, Nawala, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka.
²Griffith School of Engineering, Nathan Campus, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.
³Department of Environmental Engineering, Toyama Prefectural University, Toyama, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/ojce.2015.51007                

Abstract

This case study investigates better and sustainable waste management for a given area in Sri Lanka. A questionnaire and field surveys were performed in a small local authority adjacent to Colombo, the capital city. Composting for organic waste and incineration for non-compostable waste were found to be important treatment methods for solid-waste management. The reduction of solid waste is a critical process for sustainable management. Currently, people in the area do not have much interest in waste recycling to decrease the cost of solid-waste management. It was therefore concluded that raising people’s awareness would play an important role in the reduction of solid waste. A suitable waste-management plan needs to be made for each community and area. The situation and conditions of every area is different, therefore each community needs to make an effort to find its own better and sustainable solid-waste management process.

Keywords

Pradeshiya Sabha, Sri Lanka, Solid Waste, Questionnaire, Field Survey, Awareness

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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