Authorities aim to add value to solid waste compost

The Sri Lankan agriculture industry relies heavily on chemical fertilisers and pesticides, despite widespread knowledge of the drawbacks of using agrochemicals. Even though chemical growth agents provide rapid results, their use can lead to adverse consequences such as degraded soil conditions, low harvest over time and health-related issues.

A better alternative is composting, which is nature’s way of recycling organic materials back into the soil. It is timely that more attention is given to achieve safer, more environmentally friendly and sustainable ways of treating and disposing Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). 

With an aim to enhance the quality of compost made from MSW, officials of the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), along with the assistance of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), launched a project at the Kurunegala Municipal Council. 

The project is based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the CEA and IWMI, which was signed last July. In line with this MoU, the parties involved have commenced a series of collaborative studies on using pelletising technology and nutrient enhancement initiatives, ‘co-composting’ with different high-nutrient waste streams and blending with local resources to add value to MSW compost. 

IWMI donated an imported compost pellet-making machine to the Kurunegala Municipal Council to mark the inauguration of these studies. At the inauguration ceremony, IWMI Director General Jeremy Bird explained how IWMI can contribute towards adding value to compost, via its research experiences in Africa on co-composting and pelletising and expertise based on over a decade of research. 

CEA Chairman D. W. Prathapasinghe declared that the low quality of compost is an obstacle to creating market demand, and to obtain a higher market value for compost in general. He further noted that a series of collaborative studies on creating value addition to MSW compost has also commenced, with the involvement of the Kurunegala Municipal Council. 

Ajith Weerasundhara, Director of the CEA’s Pilisaru Project, conveyed his belief that the Kurunegala compost plant could act as a model for more than 100 other plants set up in the country under the national solid waste management programme. He stated that the findings of these studies would be applied to other compost plants as well.