Preliminary solid waste management (SWM) data survey and assessment of town, treatment site and disposal site conditions; case study southern province of Sri Lanka

In case of southern province of Sri Lanka, Solid Waste Management (SWM) can be an aggravated problem in future with respect to the present development activities in the area. To find a sustainable solution for this problem is very important to aware about present situation of SWM in the province. But there is no SWM data survey has been carried out in the province recently. Therefore under this research work a preliminary SWM data survey has been conducted in all 49 Local Authorities (LA) in Southern province. Research work was basically carried out at LA level since LA is the responsible administration body for solid waste management within its territory. Further town condition, waste treatment and disposal site conditions of each local authority were visited and assessed according to an accepted assessment criteria. Total daily waste collection in the province is 231.65 tons and it is only a 20% of total daily waste generation in the province. Composting is the most adopted waste treatment method in the province as 19 LAs out of 49 have already established composting facilities. Waste disposal is the major problem for most of the LAs as it contributes to create many socio-environmental issues. When consider waste disposal methods in southern province, 29 LAs have adopted open dumping while other LAs are burying. According to the assessment it was found that SWM in 96 percent of LAs is not up the acceptable level. The findings and results of the study have been presented in this research paper in detail.