A ceremony to mark the completion of a project to strengthen the role of Informal Waste Collectors (IWCs) in the Kaduwela Municipal Council area was held at Monarch Imperial Hotel recently.
The project “Strengthening the Role of Informal Waste Collectors (IWCs) through a Plastic Recycling Model in the Kaduwela Municipal Council Area” was conducted by Janathakshan (Gte) Ltd with funding from the USAID Clean Cities, Blue Ocean (CCBO) Program.
Country Director of USAID Clean Cities, Blue Ocean Program, Sri Lanka and the Maldives Mrs. Nilanka Wijenayake said the project implemented by Janathakshan was unique and thus there was a new awakening in the field of informal waste management sector. Chief Executive Officer of Janathaskan, Dr. Janaka Hemathilaka said. Janathaskan succeeded in achieving the specific objectives of the project, which included developing the capacity of waste collectors and promoting sustainable waste management practices in the community. Janathakshan achieved some important milestones through the project. It set up and facilitated four plastic recycling centres, identified 100 Informal Waste Collectors , identified 114 Community Animators, placed 45 Waste Collection Bins, distributed five e-bicycles, reached 3,056 people and 1,489 students through awareness on Solid Waste Management (SWM) and 3R (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycling.
With all these interventions, the project has safely managed 580 metric tons of Municipal waste, reduced, or recovered and diverted from the disposal of 550 metric tons of materials, and safely managed 500 metric tons of plastic.
