1.) WALK asks for accountability, supermarkets of Sri Lanka (4:47min, published Jan. 2020)
Access video here: https://www.facebook.com/goodmarket.lanka/posts/490459931609525
WALK’s (Waste Action Lanka) is a citizens advocacy group, started July 2019, that brings awareness to waste issues in Sri Lanka. In this video, WALK exposes the role that Colombo supermarkets play in plastic waste generation. This video starts out by describing how Sri Lanka is suffering under the weight of increasing waste generation: over 7,000 tons of mixed waste daily, with the majority generated in the Western Province (the province that includes Colombo). Waste is one of the principal signs of economic growth. But, on an island nation, it does not take too long for the waste challenges to become apparent. Development narratives have not questioned consumption and the increasing disposal of non-biodegradable materials like plastic. This video touches upon the following topics: laws on plastic bags; responsible behavior by businesses and consumers; the utility of plastics given their single-use; green washing; plastics alternatives; and inter-generational concerns for the environment.
Questions:
1.) What similarities can be seen between challenges with plastic waste in Sri Lanka and challenges where you live?
2.) Who do you think should be responsible for reducing plastic waste? Producers, supermarkets, or consumers?
Further References:
Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) and Friends of the Earth Sri Lanka. (2019). Why Sri Lanka Should Ban Single Use Plastics. CEJ: Colombo.
https://ejustice.lk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/single-use-plastics_1.pdf
UNEP. (2018). Single-Use Plastics: A Roadmap for Sustainability. Geneva: UNEP.
https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/single-use-plastics-roadmap-sustainability
2.) Sri Lanka struggles to tackle waste problem (2:47min, published by Al Jazeera May 4, 2017)
Access video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAo18QoNRW0
This video discusses waste challenges in Sri Lanka in the wake of the April 14, 2017 Meethotamulla landfill landslide. This collapse created a waste “tsunami,” as described by a local official. The waste collapsed from the top of the landfill (48.5m or 159ft). Due to the height of the waste pile and the momentum of the fall, all this material pushed up waste from the bottom to smother a whole community. The magnitude of this collapse buried 147 homes in the adjoining neighborhood (pictured in video), and killed 32 people. For many Sri Lankans, the Meethotamulla collapse was a wake up call to the magnitude of the waste problem. The governments’ response was a relocation plan for the surviving families and a ban on anti-garbage protests. It also directed that anyone disrupting garbage disposal would be prosecuted and perhaps face indefinite jail time (Straits Times, April 21, 2017). Limiting the public’s ability to have a voice on waste issues, especially those with waste dumped right in their backyards, hinders environmental justice.
The second measure the government took after the collapse was to immediately ban waste dumping at Meethotamulla, which resulted in several weeks of uncollected waste Colombo. When waste is ‘distanced’ and taken away from homes and businesses and dumped elsewhere in a practice of ‘out of sight, out of mind,’ accumulating waste issues can easily be ignored because citizens are not confronted with the daily reminder of waste. However, when waste began to pile up on the streets, this engendered a negative waste management sentiment from the general public and citizens began to wonder about the long-term waste plan. The third measure resulting from this event was that the city‘s waste was now dumped at Muthurajawela, which is in theory a protected wetland and conservation site. Colombo is a designated ‘wetlands city’ through the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and dumping waste directly into the wetlands destroys the ecosystems and numerous social and ecological benefits of this natural landscape. Nevertheless, between 2017-2019 Colombo municipal waste was sent to this wetland area. When waste is moved from one place to another, the phenomenon is called ‘distancing.’(Clapp 2002). The distancing of waste is a characteristic of waste management everywhere in the world.
This video elaborates on the state of waste in Sri Lanka post-Meethotamulla, including issues such as: how polythene are often mixed with organics; challenges with increasing waste generation; challenges with situating landfill sites in the urban area; vulnerability of neighboring communities to waste sites; discrepancies between waste regulations and practice; the challenge of creating recycling systems without a consistency of material streams; and other options to waste management like ‘pay-to-throw.’ Note that the reporter says that Sri Lanka generates the highest amount of garbage per person globally. However, despite waste being a huge challenge, this statistic is false, as the report (Jambeck et al, 2015) was based from World Bank data that was in error.
Questions:
1.) What are some of the waste management policies discussed in the video? Would any of these options impact the overall sustainability scenario in Sri Lanka?
2.) How is waste both a social/cultural and ecological issue?
Resources:
Clapp, J. (2002). The distancing of waste: Overconsumption in a global economy. Confronting consumption, 155-176.
Jambeck, J.R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T.R., Perryman, M., Andrady, A., Narayan, R. and Law, K.L. (2015). Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science, 347(6223), pp.768-771.
On the scope of global waste challenges:
Kaza, S., Yao, L., Bhada-Tata, P., & Van Woerden, F. (2018). What a waste 2.0: a global snapshot of solid waste management to 2050. Washington, DC: World Bank Publications.
Pellow, D. N. (2004). Garbage wars: The struggle for environmental justice in Chicago. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Straits Times. (April 21, 2017). Sri Lanka bans anti-garbage protests after dump disaster. Straits Times. Retrieved from: http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/sri-lanka-bans-anti-garbage-protests-after-dump-disaster
3.) Solid successes in solid waste management in Sri Lanka (Published by WIH Resource Group, 15:19 min)
Access video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je7tQeD9JR0
This video highlights several case studies on waste management from the hill country in Sri Lanka. The video includes actions by Nuwara Eliya municipality and hotels; citizens in Hatton; and local school kids in Talawakele. The videography allows for a glimpse into the life and culture of the hill country as well. The film also includes a comparative look at waste issues in other Asian countries such as the Philippines, Bangladesh and the Maldives.
This video prompts ideas of how a waste situation can change from something ‘unmanageable’ to something within citizen’s and local authority’s capability, when waste is made a priority.
Questions:
1.) How can local authorities manage waste differently than the current situation?
2.) why is point of origin segregation of waste important?
3. ) How do attitudes factor into creating alternatives to current waste management strategies?
Resources:
Discuss how a community can take waste management to the next step of waste reduction. Look over the resources provided by the Zero Waste Masterplan https://zerowasteworld.org/zwmp/
What is zero waste? How is zero waste different from waste management? How could zero waste be incorporated into a town level in Sri Lanka? How could zero waste be incorporated into your school/your city?
