Impact of socioeconomic factors on solid waste management in Matale municipal council area

Abstract

Introduction

Solid waste management refers to the supervised handling of waste material from generation at the source through the recovery processes to disposal (Glossary of Environmental Statistics, 1997). Urban solid waste management is considered to be one of the most serious environmental problems confronting urban areas in developing countries. At present, solid waste is being dumped in environmentally very sensitive places. Haphazard throwaway and dumping of solid waste reduce aesthetic value and scenic beauty of the environment thereby creating negative visible impacts to human beings and adverse effects on tourism. The current waste production levels on a global scale amount to 1.3 billion tons per year with 3 billion residents producing approximately 1.2 kg per person per day (World Bank, 2012). However with rapid urbanization urban populations are anticipated to increase further by 1.3 billion to 4.3 billion residents by 2025. Consequently waste generation trends will also increase from 1.2 kg to 1.42 kg per person per day by 2025 while annual waste generation levels increase to 2.2 billion tons respectively (World Bank, 2012). Ranathunga et al. (2016) carried out a research on socio economic determinants of household solid waste management in Kandy Municipal area.

Municipal solid waste is a growing problem in Sri Lanka, especially in the urban areas. This problem is aggravated due to the absence of a proper solid waste management system in the country. As a result, solid waste is openly dumped in a few chosen locations in the towns. The Matale city struggles with a number of challenges linked to solid waste management, which is a core responsibility of the Matale Municipal Council. Approximately 30–32 tons of wastes are generated per day in the city. Waste collection tends to be low, although 20 percent of the municipal budget is spent on solid waste management. Collecting 1 ton of waste costs around 30 US $. The generated solid wastes from the Matale Municipal Council are dumped at the Wariyapola solid waste dumping site (Annual Report, MMC). Practices in Sri Lanka reflect a lack of knowledge of sustainable solid waste management practices. This study is an attempt to address this gap by focusing on the socioeconomic factors which influence waste mangment practices in the Matale Municipality limits.