Abstract:
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generation and management is a continually growing problem at global
level, and is becoming more complicated day by day. Sri Lanka as a developing country also confronts
the issue of increasing solid waste. Its major conventional solid waste management practice of open
dumping is being challenged at present due to its negative impacts on environment and public health.
Therefore, there is a necessity to look at this problem from a new perspective. Being identified the
Energy from Waste (EfW) technologies as one of the best solutions to solve MSW problem, this paper
aims at assessing the viability of setting up an EfW facility to get rid of Meethotamulla, Kolonnawa
Garbage Mountain which has become a pressing issue today. The data gathered from secondary
sources such as government publications, journal articles, newspaper articles, and other published
reports intensifies this analysis. Based on the analysis, it is identified that mass combustion is the best
possible technology to treat about 1300 tons of waste per day in order to make the Meethotamulla
garbage site hazard free zone by 2040 and to generate 14MW of electricity per day as a by-product of
waste combustion. And eventually, the PESTE analysis identifies the opportunities and threats that can
be affected when implementing such a capital intensive facility.