Vacant lands becoming dumping grounds for garbage: Colombo Mayor

Colombo, June 29 (Daily Mirror) - While highlighting that there is a garbage collection issue in the city of Colombo, Mayor Vraie Cally Balthazar yesterday indicated that poorly maintained vacant lands are becoming dumping grounds and poorly segregated waste are main reasons for it.

Mayor said the following in her social media post.

Solving the garbage collection issue is not something the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) can do alone.

Yesterday, we brought together the Urban Development Authority (UDA), National Housing Development Authority (NHDA), Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation (SLLDC), the Presidential Secretariat, Clean Sri Lanka, the Commissioner General of Railways (CGR), the Waste Management Authority (WMA), the Environmental Police, and other key stakeholders to strengthen our collective response to waste management across the city.

While waste collection is a service provided by the CMC, keeping the city clean is a shared responsibility. Vacant lands that are not properly maintained often become illegal dumping sites, which is why the support of every agency managing public land is so important.

We also discussed the challenges that have affected waste collection in recent months. Since the end of January, repeated partial and full closures of the waste-to-energy plant have disrupted the city's waste disposal operations. Despite these setbacks, our teams continue to work tirelessly to keep the city clean.

One issue remains critical: waste segregation. The waste-to-energy plant can only process properly segregated waste, yet much of what we receive is mixed waste. Better segregation at source will help us improve collection, reduce delays, and manage waste more effectively.

At yesterday's meeting, we agreed on practical targets to keep public spaces free of illegal dumping and improve coordination between all agencies. A cleaner Colombo is only possible when institutions and residents work together. Thank you to everyone doing their part—we all have a role to play.

Former member of CMC Sharmila Gonawela who responded to the statement made by the Mayor said the council has to play a lead role in garbage collection as funds have been allocated in the budget for it. It was reported earlier that funds were allocated in the CMC budget to purchase garbage trucks.