Solid Waste Management

Solid waste is mainly originated from residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, or construction activities. Therefore, the composition of solid waste varies with the origin. Though organic waste, plastic, paper, glass, metal, and textile are commonly found in solid waste, hazardous substances will also be found, especially in the solid waste disposed of by some of the industries. Hence, the disposal of solid waste should be done in a systematic way to ensure environmental best practices. Current practices of the disposal of solid waste in Sri Lanka include open burning, open dumping, sanitary landfills, incineration, waste to energy, composting, anaerobic digestion, and biogas production.

Some of our main focuses include:

  • Management of open dumps
  • Odor control in open dumps using EM technology
  • Development of sanitary landfills

Publications

  • Jayaweera, M., Gunawardana, B., Gunawardana, M., Karunawardena, A., Dias, V., Premasiri, S., Dissanayake, J., Manatunge, J., Wijeratne, N., Karunarathne, D., & Thilakasiri, S. (2019). Management of municipal solid waste open dumps immediately after the collapse: An integrated approach from Meethotamulla open dump, Sri Lanka. Waste Management95, 227-240.
  • Perera, W. D. M. C., Bandara, N. J. G. J., & Jayaweera, M. (2014). Treatment of landfill leachate using sequencing batch reactor. Journal of Tropical Forestry and Environment4, 82-90.