Kandy’s garbage crisis has worsened dramatically following the massive influx of pilgrims for the Dalada Maligawa exposition, with officials now warning that waste segregation has become impossible due to garbage being contaminated with human excreta.
According to Anuruddha Karunaratne, Senior Lecturer in Waste Management at the University of Peradeniya’s Faculty of Agriculture, the volume of garbage generated over the past few days has surged to ten times the daily average. He expressed grave concern over the mounting crisis at the Guhagoda Garbage Yard, which serves as the city’s primary disposal site and is now nearing its maximum capacity.
“On regular days, we separate biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. But what we’ve seen recently is unmanageable. In some areas, waste is so contaminated with human excreta that it’s impossible to segregate,” Karunaratne explained.
He noted that over the past ten days, an estimated one million visitors may have each contributed at least 500 grams of garbage per day—amounting to an additional 500 tons of waste now clogging the city.
“Even if 250 to 300 tractor loads were used to remove this, the issue remains because most of it has not been properly collected or disposed of,” he added.
The garbage has not only been dumped in public areas, but much of it is also mixed with waste from temporary camps and roadside rest points where pilgrims stayed—many without adequate sanitation facilities.
Karunaratne stressed that the city is overwhelmed: “Kandy’s capacity to manage both people and waste has been breached. The public’s lack of awareness and careless disposal habits are making matters worse.”
He warned that unless immediate intervention is taken, the garbage situation could evolve into a serious public health crisis, especially as waste continues to pile up in sensitive urban and sacred zones with limited disposal space.
