Problems pile up as still no solution to Mannar’s garbage crisis
Every evening at 6 p.m, smoke rises from Mannar town, wafting through homes and masking the pink and yellow sunset with a thin black screen. It is a product of garbage burning, a practice that residents are resorting to since collection became sporadic following a court order in November that prevented the Mannar Urban Council (MUC) from dumping waste at a site inside the Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve.
In late 2023 and January 2024 garbage was not collected at all as the MUC claimed they had no land for dumping. Now, kitchen waste is handled in Sinnakadai on a twoacre plot behind the cemetery. Previously used as a park for urban council vehicles and to make compost, a landfill has since emerged. Garbage collectors say the place is too small for Mannar urban area's 24,000 population. According to the MUC, including the waste brought in by outsiders coming to schools, hospitals and businesses, the MUC garbage system is catering to about 50,000 people.
While biodegradable materials are composted and plastic bottles are recycled, MUC workers have started to burn shopping bags, lunch sheets, yoghurt cups, paper, cloth scraps, and other substances to create landfill space. “Within six months there will be no more space to put this garbage,” said a worker there. “Then what will we do?”
To delay running out of space, garbage collectors have resorted to avoiding collection with many residents complaining that they intentionally skip lanes—or, as one resident put it, “drive very quietly, no longer calling for people to bring their garbage out”. Another resident alleged that collectors only go to houses which pay them, a common practice she says has worsened.
But officials at MUC who requested anonymity claim that people burn garbage simply out of laziness to separate the waste. Garbage collectors say they are taking whatever they can but don’t have the capacity to manage the large amounts of waste, particularly urban foliage such as coconut fronds, which the law does not require they handle. According to MUC only four metric tonnes of garbage are being collected, less than a quarter the amount taken last year. "People shout at us but what can we do?” complained the driver of a garbage truck. “If we go to explain the situation to every single person, we will never finish our work.”
The new circumstances are affecting Mannar’s environment as ponds cannot be easily cleared increasing the risk of contagious disease, an MUC official said, requesting anonymity.
M. Radha who lives in the outskirts of Mannar near a barren plot of land sees the effects of Mannar’s garbage crisis every day. “Town folk come on motorbikes and threewheelers to toss their garbage, not even bothering to stop,” she said. “We occasionally collect the waste near our house and burn it.”
Multiple bicycle repair shops in Mannar also said they simply burn their waste including tyres. Still others drop off their garbage in front of the MUC and public bus stand.
The smoke is proving more than just an inconvenience. On Tuesday evenings when everyone burns their garbage the air pollution is so bad it affects the visibility of passing motorists. “They burn garbage alongside our lane,” a resident said, “and I have no option but to breathe in the smoke and cough. It’s disgusting.” Burning garbage, particularly plastic and polythene, increases the risk of birth defects, stroke, respiratory and heart disease as well as hindering neurodevelopment.
The problem arises partly because alternatives to the Vidattaltivu site, such as the MUC-owned Sinnakadai and Shanthipuram on Mannar Island, are densely populated, leading to complaints from locals. Earlier this year, for example, the MUC took waste to Shanthipuram but had to stop after residents protested.
The area around Sinnakadai, too, is prone to flooding and officials worry that once the rain starts the complaints will flood in. Further, recommendations that MUC expand the neighbouring Pesalai town’s Pradeshiya Sabha dumping ground for the Mannar town’s needs was met with strong resistance from the people of Pesalai, explained a local official.
Parts of the mainland are also not easy options, claim officials. Much of Mannar district belongs to the Forest Department and is a declared sanctuary, reserve, or other protected space. Some areas are included in the Vankalai Bird Sanctuary and Vidataltivu Nature Reserve. Peter Sinclair, a former government servant and researcher, explained the situation as “limited garbage collecting for limited land.”
However, theSunday Times also found that a lack of prioritizing proper garbage management is exacerbating the problem. The authorities focus on “garbage dumping” when they should do so on “garbage management” which includes composting and recycling.
At the landfill site in Vidattaltivu plastic, electric, medical, and biodegradable waste were dumped and burned together. “Before it was easy, but now we have to separate whatever garbage we bring because of the small space,” complained one collector. Another resident said that people are irresponsible and must simply learn to properly separate their garbage and assist the local authorities.
Moreover, incentives are an issue. Mannar Town’s fifteen garbage collectors are paid Rs. 1,150 per day via a private company by the MUC. Most work as daily wage workers taking odd jobs to supplement their income.
“We want at least Rs. 40,000 to come into our hand each month,” said one collector. “Now we have to dig through the waste, and we develop rashes on our skin.” An MUC worker who previously did not handle garbage lamented that he is only given Rs. 5,000 more for the extra risk and effort of separating waste at the landfill site.
Root causes are yet to be addressed and only time will reveal the full impact of the Mannar garbage crisis on health and the environment.
But residents are anticipating the worst.
“I understand that birds’ lives [at Vidattaltivu] are important,” said a middle-aged mother of two, “but what about our human life?”