SCS Engineers (SCS) has worked on two separate but related USAID-funded assignments in Colombo , involving the development of solid waste management plans for the GMCA, evaluation of alternative improvements to the existing infrastructure, and identification of options for the privatization of waste collection and disposal services.

The initial phase of the project included a review of existing solid waste management plans prepared by others.  Emphasis was placed on the evaluation of previous recommendations to rail haul solid waste to a landfill remote of the Colombo metropolitan area.  The rail haul plan was considered very expensive and an alternative method of managing the metropolitan area waste was needed. 

Field work included a study of waste composition, evaluation of landfill configuration and capacity, and assessment of the recycling and waste reduction opportunities for organics (food and yard waste, primarily).  The waste characterization study confirmed earlier assumptions; over 95 percent of the waste stream was compostable material.

Recommendations addressed the high percentage of organics in the waste stream, cultural practices such as scavenging and collection “zones” within the city by private haulers, and the need/market for medium-quality compost at nearby farm cooperatives.  SCS made recommendations for reducing the flow of organics to the landfill through diversion to a proposed compost facility. 

SCS next developed a pilot composting system strategy that was implemented by the GMCA.  Capital costs were then developed for a full-scale program and equipment recommendations were made for the operation of the facility.

The project included working with the GCMA and the Metropolitan Environmental Improvement Program (MEIP) in developing the recommended actions and transferring the findings via reports and a training session.  The main audiences for this work were the region’s waste haulers (to stress the importance of keeping organics free of contaminants) and farmers who would benefit from the use of compost to replenish organics in their soils.

Two years later, funding for this proposed project was secured and a composting program was implemented, first on a pilot scale, then on a full-scale basis.

More recently (2002), SCS observed the current solid waste management infrastructure in Colombo and identified options for improvements in efficiency and effectiveness, including the privatization of basic municipal waste handling services.