Abstract:
The dissertation of Unplanned Solid Waste Management in the Colombo Urban Area,
analyse the existing solid waste management methods in the said area in a spatial
planning context. In the introduction, the definitions used in the study with the scope and
the objective of the study and the methodology and the planning process are presented.
The first chapter gives an overview of the solid waste management in Sri Lanka as well
as in other countries with a historical background of solid waste accumulation in the
ancient cities which later became the urban centres. By analysing the national perspective
it was evident that the most appropriate unit of solid waste management is a regional
entity or a smaller unit. Therefore, the Colombo Urban Area was selected to analyse the
implications of unplanned solid waste management and therein the second chapter is
confined to discuss the details of existing solid waste management in the CUA. The
findings led to the conclusion that the existing solid waste management is causing
immense problems in the physical, social, economic and the environmental aspects in
human settlements thus creating difficulties to achieve a sustainable human settlement
environment. Therefore the third chapter is devoted to analyse the intensity and the
magnitude of the implications. The findings of this chapter showed that the reason for the
implications is the neglect of spatial planning considerations and the solid waste problem
is addressed on a daily basis without a long term plan considering the future population
and the development of economic activities which are responsible for the solid waste
generation and therefore the fourth chapter is devoted to the reasons for the adverse
implications. This chapter further shows that the methods of management of solid waste
in the Colombo Urban Area has totally neglected the spatial planning theories, concepts
and the techniques by giving examples from the existing solid waste management system
in the Colombo Urban Area. A case study was carried out to test the intensity of the
implications to which the fifth chapter is devoted to. The findings of the case study
confirm the implications discussed in the chapter 3. So the sixth and the final chapter is
confined to give the conclusion of the findings with a set of recommendations to achieve
a sustainable human settlements environment where the solid waste management is not a
problem.
