CCBO 3R/SWM and Marine Debris Strategy Alignment Assessment – Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has been identified as having some of the highest levels of mismanaged plastic waste but is actively working towards improving its solid waste management system. The Ministry of Environment has developed multiple national-level policies focused on waste management and has recently updated the National Policy on Waste Management (NPWM). This policy lays out a range of objectives and corresponding activities, and focuses on holding waste generators responsible, improving efficiencies and effectiveness of existing solid waste management systems, and encouraging value retention in waste material so that greater volumes are kept out of the environment.

In August 2019, Tetra Tech was awarded the Clean Cities, Blue Ocean (CCBO) Program, a five-year, $48 million contract from the U.S. Agency for International Development. CCBO is the Agency’s flagship program to respond to the global crisis of marine plastic pollution and includes Sri Lanka as one of its seven focal countries.

Sri Lanka’s NPWM provides an opportunity for CCBO to align and leverage its activities to support the country to enhance, implement, and enforce its national policy and improve its solid waste management system. In particular, CCBO may provide support in improving solid waste management and 3R practices, building social and behavioral change through educational and community efforts, and establishing effective policy with sustainable implementation. Many of the NPWM objectives are top-down approaches that would benefit from technical, financial, and social assistance for ground level implementation and enforcement, and will be served well through CCBO activities that provide policy, technology, and financial analysis and assistance while also incorporating livelihoods, gender, and inclusion into the implementation strategies and decision-making.

To inform CCBO’s approach in Sri Lanka, the program has produced this 3R/SWM and Marine Debris Reduction Strategy Alignment Assessment for Sri Lanka to highlight the ways in which CCBO can support existing marine debris strategies and to provide recommendations for increased impact. In the following report, objectives and a subset of corresponding activities of the NPWM are laid out in the context of potential CCBO actions. In terms of prioritization and timing, the main barriers related to waste management include lacking space for waste management in urban areas, public apathy, and lacking coordination between national legal efforts and local implementation. Community engagement will be critical at initial stages and authentic inclusion of local knowledge in the process will help to build capacity and improve efficiencies on the ground. Opportunities for partnerships can be cultivated in initial years and implemented in subsequent years after developing relationships. Similarly, it seems there is little acknowledgement of the role of women in the waste management system in the country, and so determining ways to improve recognition and make the solid waste management (SWM) system more inclusive will be beneficial.

In Sri Lanka, CCBO has the opportunity to build strong activity alignment with the NPWM as well as existing legislation and projects in the country. In particular, the NPWM and Sri Lanka’s broader solid waste management system are expected to benefit from the additional technical expertise, policy recommendations, and baseline research offered through CCBO.