New Sinhala documentaries on waste management
15 July 2002

The Sri Lanka Environmental Television Project (SLETP) has just launched two new Sinhala documentaries looking at innovative ways of managing garbage or solid waste.

The first programme looks at a citizen initiative in India that recycles and reuses resources, making money and jobs out of waste. The second programme travels to Manila and Cairo, discovering how two mega-cities have involved communities to solve garbage problems.

These programmes are part of an award-winning international television series called People Count that the SLETP intends introducing to Sri Lanka. People Count was produced by Turner Broadcasting System in the United States and filmed in locations all over the world. The series inspires and entertains viewers with remarkable success stories of individuals and organisations that have worked against the odds to generate income and jobs, clean the environment and create a better society.

"Although Sri Lanka's waste management problems have not yet reached the levels found in India or the Philippines, we certainly need to address the very real garbage situation in our country," says Nalaka Gunawardene, Executive Director of SLETP. "We felt that studying innovative solutions that have worked in other developing countries would help us emulate some of those approaches."

Kasala Godin Yasa Isuru (Rags to Riches, 30 mins) profiles Development Alternatives, a non-governmental organisation that uses sustainable technologies and provides thousands of jobs in India. Headed by Dr Ashok Khosla, a Harvard-trained nuclear scientist, the organisation has developed new processes for producing building materials, paper and other items in ways that uses waste and natural materials.

Kasala Jana Balawegaya (Waste to Wages, 30 mins) visits the garbage mountains of Manila where waste-pickers have organised themselves to generate jobs and money through reusing and recycling. Their inspiration came from Cairo, the Egyptian capital, whose waste problems have been addressed by community-based solutions working in tandem with local government. In both cities, tonnes of waste generated daily by over 10 million are sorted and disposed of thanks to the efforts of the waste-pickers who are the real heroes.

The programmes are produced and presented by film-maker and photographer Barbara Pyle. The SLETP voice-dubbed these documentaries into Sinhala as part of an on-going process to introduce outstanding environment and development films to Sri Lankan audiences.

Both Sinhala and English versions of these programmes - along with many others - are available from the SLETP office. Plans are underway to voice dub the entire People Count series into Sinhala in the coming months.