Waste-fired power plants draw fire for turning one form of pollution into others

By Ifham Nizam

Asolid waste-fired thermal power station is currently under construction at Muthurajawela by the Urban Development Authority. It is expected to use about 630 MT of waste from Colombo and Gampaha suburbs to generate 10MW a day.

Another such plant is under construction in Karadiyana, which will receive 500MT of municipal solid waste a day from the Western Province Waste Management Authority (WPWMA). Most of the plastic waste will be burned at these two plants in the near future, The Island learns.

The public is however unaware that both plants will emit toxic fumes harmful to all living beings especially as a result of both of them burning plastic waste.

Sri Lankans dispose 5.1 kilos of waste each daily and seven per cent of trash is plastic, an ongoing survey by the Centre for Environmental Studies (CEJ) has revealed.

CEJ scientists say there is no proper strategy to tackle the problem of waste plastic. They say burning is not a solution. “It only turns one form of pollution into others, including air emissions, toxic ash and wastewater,” said CEJ Executive Director Hemantha Withanage.

Burning waste is a health as well as an environment hazard. Even the most advanced technologies cannot avoid the release of vast amounts of pollutants that contaminate air, soil and water, and end up entering the food chain.

Mercury, dioxins, lead, and other pollutants come from burning waste. Plastic and metals are the major source of the calorific value of the waste. The combustion of plastics, like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) gives rise to these highly toxic pollutants, he says.

According to CEJ, the National Environmental (Prohibition of open burning of refuse and other combustible matters inclusive of plastics) Regulations No. 1 of 2017 orders No person shall burn openly or cause to, allow or permit the open burning of refuse or other combustible matters inclusive of plastics and any person who fails to comply with the regulations above shall be liable to an offence and punishable under Section 31 of the National Environmental Act, No. 47 of 1980.

It is time to implement this law for the sake of our future generation to come, say environmentalists.