Livelihoods through eco- friendly waste disposal

From left: Athula Ranasinghe (Project Manager, PHINLA – Sevanatha UC) Sivamangai Ramanathan (chairman, Chavakatchcheri Urban Council), Chandrapala Madurapperuma (Chairman, Ja-Ela Pradeshiya Sabha), Dr Dhanan Senathirajah (National Director, World Vision Lanka) Andreas Berg (deputy ambassador and Head of Economic Development of the German embassy) R.A Thyagartne Alwis (Chairman, Wattala Pradeshiya Sabha), Shammika Dias (chairman Ja Ela Urban Council), K.A Karunaratne (president, Sevanatha Urban resource centre), Hemantha Jayamanne (Manager, PHINLA)

World Vision Lanka recently handed over “ReSource Banks” or ‘Sampath Piyasa’ to the local authorities in Wattala, Ja-Ela and Chavakachcheri areas in a bid to provide livelihood opportunities for 500 households by helping them incorporate environmentally friendly solutions for waste disposal. The “ReSource Banks” function as resource recovery centres, providing a place for the families to segregate and drop off their non-biodegradable and clean waste and earn rewards on the type and amount of waste given.

This initiative is a part of the PHINLA Project (a global programme focused on waste management systems) which is funded by the German government and implemented by World Vision Lanka in partnership with Sevanatha Urban Resource Centre.

The waste brought to the centre, will be weighed and pre agreed points will be allocated once 1000 points are reached. When the individual reaches 1000 points, he/she will be made eligible to redeem them for 1000 rupees or other alternative rewarding plans equal to the earned value will be provided. The center operators will facilitate value additions through further segregation, further cleaning, storing, baling etc. to make this purchasable for recycling companies.

“Even though the central government has been working with the provincial councils we are yet to find an efficient mechanism to rectify issues surrounding waste management. Therefore, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude for the immense support World Vision has been rendering to the Western province through the PHINLA Project to find ways to rectify this issue,”, said Kasun Apasinghe, Commissioner of Local Governments and the Director of the Solid Waste Management Authority of the Western Province.”Since the government has made it compulsory for waster segregation at household level, I greatly appreciate how the ReSource Bank will work with the community in managing the waste. I want to assure our fullest support on the part of the government for this initiative,” he said.