Abstract:
Urbanization, population growth and rapid development have created a notable shift
in septage*
management in Sri Lanka, necessitating a vast and rapid improvement in
the service of mechanized septage collection by trucks and finding additional space
to meet the increasing septage disposal needs. According to data collected in 2012,
58% of the Local Authorities (LAs) in Sri Lanka have access to septic truck services.
Septage (from septic trucks) appears as a non-traditional and fairly new urban waste
stream without proper regulatory and institutional arrangement to manage. This
paper contains a comprehensive legal, regulatory and institutional analysis of the
present situation, and identify the needs and gaps that need to be filled to establish
a sustainable septage management service in Sri Lanka. This review has elicited the
need for a new array of regulatory and institutional interventions from national level
to local level to manage septage.
