The government has allocated Rs. 30 billion to implement a national waste management programme, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake said on Thursday, describing waste as a problem that has gone unresolved in Sri Lanka for many years.
He was speaking at a discussion at the Presidential Secretariat on the “Pivithuru Purawara” National Waste Management Programme, which will run from 2026 to 2029. The programme is coordinated by the Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat, according to a statement from the President’s Media Division.
Kumanayake said the programme would be delivered in three phases, and that lasting success would depend not only on modern scientific methods but on changing public attitudes and behaviour. Without that shift, he said, no permanent solution could be achieved.
Delivery through local authorities
The programme will be implemented over three years under the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government together with the Clean Sri Lanka National Programme, with local authorities across the country taking part.
Deputy Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government Ruwan Senarath said waste management had effectively become the responsibility of local authorities, making it impossible for central government to resolve alone. Improper disposal was now a serious concern in every district, he said, and although various initiatives had been tried over the years, none had produced a sustainable long-term solution.
Local authorities could not fix a problem that had persisted for decades on their own, Senarath said, which is why the government had identified the need for a comprehensive, science-based national strategy.
What the programme covers
The meeting reviewed waste management problems district by district, examining collected data, proposed solutions and the practical obstacles expected during implementation. Areas discussed included:
- Scientific and technical support for household compost production
- Waste segregation and recycling, and income-generating opportunities from recycling
- Directing both biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste to recycling centres
- Stronger legal action against illegal dumping, and a dedicated hotline for reporting it
- Coastal waste, medical waste and waste around ports, including discarded fibreglass and fishing nets
Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Professor Chandana Abeyratne attended, alongside ministry secretaries, provincial chief secretaries, local government commissioners and members of the waste management expert committee.
The programme is separate from Mithuru Purawara, the Rs. 581 million small-town development initiative approved by Cabinet in June, though both sit under the Clean Sri Lanka umbrella.
Source: Ada Derana.
