SPECIAL TRAINING PROGRAMME

IN GARBAGE MANAGEMENT FOR LG MEMBERS

Local government members will be able to undergo a special training programme in garbage management at a proposed site at the Karadiyana Garbage dump site. The project is to be held at the Mihisaru Field Research and Training centre, the construction of which is nearing completion at a cost of Rs. 340 million with the training programme to begin soon after, Director of the Western Province Waste Management Authority Nalin Mannapperuma said.

He also said the programme was available for others including local and foreign University students and environmentalists, who were interested in garbage management.

“With the rapid increase in the population daily in the Western Province, the officers and the public should be educated about the garbage generation without it being a challenge,” Mr. Mannapperuma said.

He stated further that about 500 officers in the Western Provincial Council had undergone the training but the number was inadequate and said that Public Health Inspectors and other workers should also be trained.

Commenting on the lack of interest shown by Sri Lankans over this matter, Mr. Mannapperuma said further that studies on the daily changes taking place in a garbage dump, the different types of gas that is being created, the development of chemicals etc are subjects of study in countries like Japan, China, Malaysia, and Belgium, where special research centres are established for this purpose.

“In our country it is limited to the Lab of the University. Therefore it is of paramount importance that a residential programme of this nature should involve

With the rapid increase in the population daily in the Western Province, the officers and the public should be educated about the garbage generation without it being a challenge - MR. MANNAPPERUMA

every council member so as to enable them to grasp a first-hand knowledge of garbage management with the view of educating them and in the end a more efficient and productive service could be obtained from them. Earlier there had been occasions when officers of certain categories were selected by the Western Provincial Council for training abroad, there were no avenues to provide this knowledge to the labourer who attends to the clearing of garbage, and with this Field Research Project in operation, groups of trained personnel could even be deployed for clearing of garbage,” he said.