Kotte Solid Waste Management Strategy

• Municipal Council to make adequate arrangements for utilization ofdegradable waste for composting and bio-energy retrieval.6. Strengthening EPM/SWM Institutional Capacity of SJKMCInstitutional capacity of the municipal council will be improved by streamliningSWM as part of the Council’s overall approach to environment planning andmanagement. Institutionally, SWM will not be perceived as an isolated entity. It will bebrought into the mainstream of municipal planning and administration. Necessaryinstitutional changes will be made to achieve this shift of emphasis and positioning.Participatory institutional mechanisms will be introduced to engage partnerships andpublic participation and to search for innovative technical solutions to SWM problems.Human resource development too will receive due attention and resources. The staff willreceive due orientation to the new approach of waste reduction and recycling as againstcollection and disposal.• Comprehensive environmental approach: Solid waste management cannot be donein isolation. It must be viewed by the Municipal Council and the city stakeholders asa part of a broader concern for urban environment management. Institutionalarrangements must, therefore, be designed to manage the total environment and notonly the solid waste problem. Accordingly, the strategy proposes a new organogramfor institutional restructuring within the municipal framework as given in the diagrambelow.• Non-negotiable Emphasis on Waste Reduction: For sustainable solid wastemanagement, optimum possible cost recovery through separation and recycling ofwaste is very important. Recycling is not only a cost recovery method but also wastereduction approach. It will help reduce the existing demand on municipalmanagement and financial resources and also the land area required sanitary filling.• Restructuring of institutional arrangements: The conventional municipal SWM isrepresented by a hierarchical structure headed by the Municipal Engineer. This SWMorganogram is no more valid in SJKMC where the city waste is handled now bymany formal as well as informal partners i.e. the private sector, householders,domestic sweepers, rag-pickers at dumpsites and as itinerants, waste hawkers andrecyclers. The primary collection and disposal is done by the urban poor and alliedmarginalized social groups. They all are important allies in the management of citywaste. The proposed EPM/SWM Organogram of SJKMC reflects this realityrecognizing and promoting the various efforts all of them as virtual partners. The neworganogram proposed a three tier management structure at city, ward and communitylevels directed by a city level Environment Task Force. Two programme units, onefor SWM and the other for Environment will be set up at the administrative level.They will be assigned with the responsibility of responsibility of planning and