Foreign tourism businesswoman shares insight

Saturday, 14 December 2024 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

We publish below a brief commentary sent by a British national living in Sri Lanka for the past two decades, running a successful tourism establishment. She spends much of her time weekly if not daily, collecting garbage from the Arugambay area in the east of Sri Lanka. We have respected her request for anonymity.

“As a regular collector of garbage from the beach of Arugambay, I observe that visitors both foreign and local, fishermen and area residents who consume food/drinks on the beach just drop stuff where they stand. The fishermen’s garbage is different. It is more fishing net waste, beedi wrappers and discarded clothing as well as footwear. Visitors’ litter is more food and drink related. But it all amounts to the same result which is a dirty beach!

We have recently been provided with garbage bins which have been placed at strategic places in Arugambay. Unfortunately this also has not really been thought through. There are three bins per station; one for food, one for paper/cardboard and one for plastic. There is no provision for glass, tin cans, rigifoam and general waste that does not fit any category. The food and paper could be combined as paper is compostable. Another problem is that people are generally lazy and apathetic about their garbage so all these bins contain a mixture of all.”