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JAICA's garbage landfill project at Sadatenne, Nuwara Eliya

The sanitary garbage landfill project located at Sadatenne, Nuwara Eliya, which is expected to be a model in garbage disposal, is now being visited by heads of local bodies in the country as well as local government officials.

The JAICA funded project covering an extent of over 7 acres to be completed at a cost of Rs. 16 million in the Bomuruella forest reserve in Nuwara Eliya has been handed over to the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council.

For the last ten years the Municipal Council had been faced with the problem of disposing garbage collected within the municipal limits. Its decision to dump the garbage in the middle of the Nuwara Eliya race course and cover it with earth met with media criticism was a failure.

Due to consistent criticism about the manner in which the Municipal Council chose to dispose of the garbage, an Asian Development Bank funded project to produce compost manure from garbage was inaugurated in the Meepilimane forest reserve at a cost of Rs. 10.8 million but proved to be a total failure.

At this stage the Japanese JAICA institute intervened to introduce a novel method of managing garbage which was to be a pilot project in South Asia.

The Japanese advisors who planned the project is of the view that the Nuwara Eliya town will not face a garbage problem for the next 20 years.

The project is one year old now and everybody has accepted that the project is successful.

To view the unique garbage filling site heads from all local bodies and members as well as officials visit the site very often. Undergrads from all universities in the country and other educational institutions and school children come to view the project and study it.

This project is a good model for all local government institution to solve their garbage problem as well. The project has helped Nuwara Eliya to stay clean as a tourist city.