Most Sri Lankans are not aware about their responsibility with regard to waste management, Mass Media and Information Ministry Secretary Dr Charitha Herath said.
Delivering the keynote address at the inauguration and technical sessions of the International Conference on Waste Management Towards Waste Free Sri Lanka in Colombo on March 22, he said haphazard municipal waste collection and disposal is a major environmental issue in Sri Lanka.
“Although there is growing awareness regarding environmental issues among the public in Sri Lanka, public perception regarding the public’s responsibility is sadly deficient,” he said.
Dr Herath said the need for environmental safeguards is enshrined in the constitution of Sri Lanka, article 27 of the constitution states that “the state shall protect, preserve and improve the environment for the benefit of the community”.
The Sri Lankan constitution also recognises the duty of the people in this regard and goes on to state in article 28f that “the exercise and enjoyment of rights and freedoms is inseparable from the performance of duties and obligations, and accordingly it is the duty of every person in Sri Lanka citizen to protect nature and conserve its riches,” he said.
Dr Herath said thus it is clear that all Sri Lankans have a duty to protect and preserve the environment.
“Nowhere does this responsibility lie more with the public, than in the case of waste management. Most people in Sri Lanka assume that it is the duty of the municipal council, urban council, pradeshiya sabha or the Central Environmental Authority to solve the problem of garbage,” he said.
“Very few people in our country seem to be aware of their own responsibility in this regard. In most western countries as well as in countries such as Japan, Singapore and Korea the public take their responsibility regarding waste management very seriously. Almost all households in these countries separate their household waste as plastics, paper, glass and biodegradable waste,” Dr Herath said.
“In contrast, most households in our country mix all their waste into one container or bag and expect the Local Authority to promptly take it away and dispose of it out of sight. Most people do not realise the cost involved in the collection and disposal of such waste. Some local Authorities however insist that householders separate their waste and do not collect mixed waste,” he said.
The role of the media in waste management is a very important one. Its major role is to educate and to constantly remind the public of its duty in this regard. Most media highlight shortcomings of government agencies vested with the responsibility of waste management but they rarely if ever highlight or remind the public of their role or duty in this regard, Dr Herath said.
He said there are many Local Authorities doing a great job of waste management in Sri Lanka.
“Although there are only a handful of such Local Authorities, these Local Authorities have achieved results even under extremely difficult situations. I believe that the media should highlight and give wide publicity to these Local Authorities as they can be an example to other Local Authorities who are yet to achieve results in this regard,” he said.
“As all of you are aware, electronic waste or e waste as it’s popularly called, is a growing problem worldwide. The disposal of electronic items such as computers, mobile phones, TV’s, is a big threat to the environment. Many of these items contain highly toxic heavy metals which can cause environmental pollution and human health problems. The media has a very important role to play in keeping the public informed of this threat and to educate the public on the environmentally safe methods of disposal of e waste,” he said.
“During the time when I functioned as the chairman of the Central Environmental Authority we initiated a novel programme whereby the CEA signed a memorandum of Understanding with 14 companies selling electronic items. All of these companies then initiated porgrammes whereby they collected discarded electronic items and handed them over to licensed waste collectors who in turn exported them to countries where these items could be recycled. This programme was a great success and several tons of such discarded electronic items were collected through individual e waste collection campaigns organised by these companies in collaboration with the CEA. In all of these campaigns the media played a most vital role in taking the message to the public at large,” he said.
Dr Herath said the other area of waste management is that of hazardous waste management.
“Hazardous waste is waste which could cause serious environmental and human health problems if not managed properly. The Central Environmental Authority has classified several waste streams as hazardous waste taking into account the possible environmental and human health issues which could arise from the haphazard disposal of such waste. Presently hazardous waste management regulations are in force, whereby companies or institutions which generate such waste are required to dispose of such waste in an environmentally safe manner. There are however companies which ignore such requirements and dispose of their waste by dumping it in a nearby land, waterway or give it to an unlicensed contractor to take it away. This type of irresponsible behavior could cause very serious problems by exposing the general public to the effects of such hazardous waste,” he said.
“There are many examples around the world where irresponsible behaviour by companies have resulted in serious incidents of pollution and human health problems. The Minamata incident is one such case in Japan whereby innocent people were exposed to the highly toxic effects of Mercury, due to a company discharging mercury containing waste into the Minamata Bay,” Dr Herath said. “The fish in the bay stored the mercury in their bodies which in turn affected people who consumed such fish. Thousands of people were very severely affected through mercury poisoning and even unborn babies suffered severe health impacts through exposure to mercury. Similar incidents have been reported in many developed countries and in most of these cases it was the media which highlighted such incidents and thereby forced the authorities to take urgent action required,” he said.
“I cannot stress the importance of the media in highlighting such events. Within the last six months there were two cases which were highlighted y the media in Sri Lanka. One was a well known company based in Colombo which had dumped waste containing lead in a land just outside Colombo which resulted in heavy pollution of several wells around the site. The other incident was one in which a company had dumped its waste into a river, resulting in severe pollution of the river, as well as fish kills. In both these instances, it was the media which played a very important role in bringing these issues to the notice of the public as well as the authorities concerned. Prompt action was taken due to the wide publicity given by the media in both these cases,” Dr Hearth said.
“The role of the media is vital in the field of waste management both in terms of educating the public regarding their responsibilities in this regard, as well as highlighting both good behaviour and bad behaviour of private companies as well as government authorities vested with the responsibility of waste management,” he said.