Garbage separation exposes sanitation workers to disease
Sanitation workers are risking their health trying to separate household waste with their bare hands at garbage dumps. They neither have gloves nor boots. These garbage separation sites have also become an eyesore in the capital, Colombo and pose dangers to public health for which the Colombo Municipal Council is also responsible.
Environmentalist of the Biodiversity Conservation and Research Circle, Supun Lahiru Prakash, said that apart from being an occupational health hazard it is also an appalling sight.
The sites at which they separate the garbage are posing health risks to the public as well, Mr Praksah said.
“They only collect degradable or non degradable waste. The rest is left over, attracting cockroaches and flies,” he said.
He said it was unethical to force workers to collect and separate garbage without protective gear.
Environmental Lawyer Wardani Karunaratne said that if the government expects people to separate their waste, the basic facilities should be given to the middle and lower class households. “At least provide garbage bins,” she said.
The government has not been able change attitudes despite campaigns, she said.
Schools too should educate children against dumping waste and reducing waste, she said.
If the government expects the sanita- tion workers to separate the garbage, they should be trained, she said.
Asked to comment on Friday evening, Y Sylvester, the Colombo Municipal Council’s director of Solid Waste Management, said she could be contacted during office hours for a response.