Solid waste management

proposal
Proposed NRW Office at Maligakanda

Greater Colombo Water & Wastewater Management Improvement Investment

Programme
No.65, Sent Lawrence Road, Colombo 06

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

Solid waste management proposal

1. Introduction

NRW Office Building at Maligakanda is proposed under Greater Colombo Water and
Wastewater

Management

Improvement

Investment

Programme

(GCWWMIIP).

GCWWMIIP has been initiated by National Water Supply and Drainage Board
(NWSDB) with the financial support of Asian Development Bank (ADB) and
Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to provide better urban water supply services in an
effective and efficientmanner by reducing the Non-Revenue Water (NRW) in Colombo
city.
Proposed NRW Office Building is a seventh storied building, which is having 2912 m2
floor area. It is expected to carry out normal operation and maintenance works related to
NRW reduction detection and other NRW related activities within this office premises.
Solid waste is a huge problem in Colombo city not only at the disposal point but also at
the collection print this report explains how solid waste is going to be managed in the
proposed NRW Office building at Maligakanda.

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

2. Background

Solid waste management is a key factor for a cleaner city. Not only that it also minimises
environmental pollution, gives economic advantages and minimizes health impacts.
Proper waste management in office buildings improves efficiency of workers. It also
helps to reduce working stress and increasing quality of work.
Proposed NRW office has 178 Nos of staff requirement. NRW reduction works and leak
detection maintenance works are carried out in this office. Therefore it will generate nonhazardous solid waste, mainly paper waste and food waste from this office.
It is proposed to have several solid waste management techniques such as reducing waste,
reuse, waste separation, recycling... etc. to minimise the impact of solid waste.

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

3. Usage of floor space

Ground floor of the building is allocated for parking, stores and rest rooms. Space
allocation in the building is summarised below.
Table 01: space allocation of the building.
Floor

Ground Floor

First Floor

Second Floor

Usage Type

Area (m2)

Meter Testing Bench

31

Labor Rest Room

Stores

46

Tool Rooms

42

Toilets

26

Waiting Lobby

33

Parking

106

Other Circulation Area

124

Instrument Stores

11.5

Laborer Rest Room

41

Office Space

157

Lunch Room (Panty)

18

Toilets

34

Waiting Lobby

13

Other Circulation Area

82

Lobby

14

Instrument Stores

11

Office Space

183

Lunch Room (Panty)

13

Laborer Rest Room

18

Terrace

11

Toilets

34

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

Third Floor

Fourth Floor

Fifth Floor

Sixth Floor

Other Circulation Area

82

Conference Room

40

Pantry

14

Instrument Stores

14

Lobby

14

Office Space

149

Toilet

38.7

Other Circulation Area

86.5

Conference Room

40

Pantry

14

Lobby

14

Office Space

163

Toilet

38.7

Other circulation Area

86.5

Conference Room

40

Pantry

14

Lobby

14

Office Space

163

Toilet

38.7

Other circulation Area

86.5

Conference Room

40

Pantry

14

Lobby

14

Office Space

163

Toilet

38.7

Other circulation Area

86.5

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

4. Data used

Building Floor Areas ( As tabled above)

Per Person waste Generation - 0.4 kg- 0.9 kg ( For Low income countries)
(Data extracted from the book Solid Waste Management-by Subhash AnandHead, Department of Geography, Swami Shaddhanand College, India)

Technical guidelines on solid waste management in Sri Lanka by CEA.

Solid Waste Management: A Local Challenge With Global Impacts by

Environmental protection Agency USA

Data from www.epa.gov/ (Environmental Protection Agency USA)

5. Computation of probable waste Generation and source segregation

of waste
5.1 Computation of probable waste Generation

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

It is expected to have following staff in this building

Table 02 : Proposed staff for the building
Floor

Staff Category

No. of staff

Floor

Staff Category

No. of staff

Labour Rest Room

Ground

Tool Ro0ms

Floor

Meter Testing Beanch

Store Keeper with Store

Conference Room

Sub Total

10

Engineer (Civil)

Sociologist

Engineering Assistant (Civil)

Draftsman

Clerk

Chief Engineer (Civil)

First Floor

Manager

1
1
1

Fourth Floor

Engineer (Civil)

Assistant Engineers

10

Labour Rest Room

25

CC & Clerk

Sub Total

48

Chief Engineer (Civil)

Engineer (Civil)

Second

Assistant Engineers

Floor

M & E Engineer

Engineer (Randiya)

Engineering Assistant (civil)

Clerical

Laborer Rest Room

10

Sub Total

28

Assistant General Manager

Manager

Sub Total

Fifth Floor

23

Conference Room

Engineer (Civil)

Engineering Assistant (Civil)

Sub Total

23

Secretary (AGM)

Third

Conference Room

Floor

Engineer (Civil)

Engineering Assistant (civil)

Sixth Floor

Conference Room

Engineer (Civil)

Accountant

Engineering Assistant (Civil)

Account Assistant

Account Clerk

Clerical

Sub Total

23

1
Sub Total

23

Total

178

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

considering the above data, following table was prepared considering the future developments
Table 03: Estimated occupants in the office
Floor
Ground floor
First floor
Second floor
Third floor
Fourth floor
Fifth floor
Sixth floor
Total

Number of people
15
58 including customers
38 including customers
33 including customers
33 including customers
33 including customers
33 including customers
243

Since this building is an operation & maintenance office following types of wastes will be
generated. Also considering the NWSDB experience, following percentages of waste are
expected.
Table 04: Percentage of waste generated in the building
Type of waste

Percentage (%)

Paper waste

20%

Food waste

60%

Construction

and

demolition 10%

waste
Metals

1%

Plastics

5%

Electronic waste

0.5%

Yard waste

3%

Other

0.5%

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

5.2 Calculation of amount of waste generation per day.

Note: It is assumed that 0.5 kg /day/person waste is generated.
Table 05: Waste generation per day.
Type of waste

Paper Waste
Food waste
Construction
and
demolition waste

Percentage (%)

Waste Generation
per day (kg)

10%
70%
10%

12.15
85.05
12.15

Metals
Plastics
Electronic waste

1%
5%
0.50%

1.21
6.07
0.61

Yard waste
Electronic waste
Total

3%
0.50%
100%

3.64
0.61
121.5

5.3 Source segregation of waste

Main problem of waste arises due to non-segregation of wet (organic) & dry (other)
waste. When wet & dry waste get mixed and are kept in open, due to decay process odour
starts, place becomes dirty and waste cannot be disposed off 100% as there are dry waste
which is non degradable in nature.
Lot of benefits can be obtained by source segregation of waste.
Hence, the best way is to separate waste at the source. So it is proposed to separate the
waste at each floor. Following arrangement is proposed to segregate waste.

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

Ground floor

Separate bins to collect

Food waste
Paper waste
construction waste
yard waste
metals
glass
plastics
In all the other floors separate bins will be provided to collect.

In all the other floors separate bins will be provided to collect waste as follows.
Food waste
Paper waste
Plastics

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

6. Computation of quantity of Non Bio Degradable Recyclable waste

Concerns about waste management are pretty much known to everyone. Organic wastes
like food stuff, dead organisms, and most of other wastes get degraded with time. Hence,
these wastes do not possess a long-term threat regarding the accumulation of waste.
However, when it comes to materials that do not get decomposed easily and it can take
millions of years to degrade; the threat posed by them is a severe issue to be thought
upon. Such wastes that take many years to degrade are known as non-biodegradable
wastes. Examples of such non-bio degradable wastes are the polyethylene bags, the
plastic materials, glass, metal, etc
According to the assumptions and calculations done in the heading no 5, results are as
follows.
Table 06: Non degradable waste generated in the building.
Type of waste

Waste
Generation
per day (kg)

Construction
and 12.15
demolition waste
Metals
Plastics
Electronic waste

1.21
6.07
0.61
.

10

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

7. National colour code for segregated waste

Referring the Technical guidelines on solid waste management in Sri Lanka by CEA
following colour code is proposed to segregate waste.
Proposed Colour Codes for Garbage Bags is as follows.

Green Colour

Food

- Organic Waste

Paper
Blue Colour

- Paper

Red Colour

- Glass Bottles

Glass

Metal

Brown Colour - Metals / Coconut shells

Orange Colour Plastic & Polythene

Plastic

11

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

8. In-house waste collection methodology

Waste can be separated into different elements in order to make its collection efficient.
Waste sorting can be done in many ways, including collection of waste at each room with
waste sorting facilities.
Basically, dry waste should be separated so it can be recycled while wet waste can be
composted or disposed to municipal solid waste collectors.
Here is a simple guide which is proposed to help segregate waste at office.
Dry Waste, also known as non-biodegradable waste, refers to anything that can be kept
for a long period of time without decomposing. Many of these wastes can be recycled.
Other example of dry waste, include:
Cardboard/ carton box, Glass, Metal Objects, Paper, Rubber, Tins.
These should be stored in dry waste bags/bins and handed over to collectors daily. It is
important to note the schedule of the collector which transport to recyclable locations for
picking up these items.
Wet waste refers to food waste. These can be quickly broken down by microorganisms in
the environment. It is also important to separate food waste from polythene or other type
of package waste.
Other examples of wet waste, include:
Fruit and Vegetable Peeling
Rotten Fruit and Vegetable

12

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

Flowers
Coffee/ Tea Powder Waste
Wet waste should not be mixed with any other waste and should be collected on a daily
basis. This waste shall be put in air-conditioned containers and temperature shall be
below 10 C.
Garden waste, including lawn trimmings, overgrown roots and fallen leaves will be
composted.
Biomedical waste refers to any material that has blood or other bodily fluids. Biomedical
waste, include:
Sanitary napkins
Disposable Diapers
Soiled Cotton
Waxing strips
Human hair/ Nails
Biomedical waste should be wrapped in old newspaper and marked with a red cross.
These should be collected daily.
Hazardous waste generated in the building is as follows.
Electronic waste

Batteries

Florescent lamps

Toxic substances

13

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

Cleaning agents

Oils

Paints

Solvents

Household hazardous waste should be disposed separately. Separate collection and

disposal schedules are used for these items.
Waste segregation reduces the amount of waste that needs to be sent to landfills. This is
becoming increasingly important as land is beginning to become less available while the
amount of waste only continues to increase.
The proper segregation of waste is not only a matter of environmental concern, but also
of economic importance.
According the drawings shown in Annex A, garbage collection bins are located.

14

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

9. Waste Minimization techniques

Waste minimization is a process of elimination that involves reducing the amount

of waste produced in society and helps eliminate the generation of harmful and
persistent wastes, supporting the efforts to promote a more sustainable society.
Hence, Following techniques are used for minimise the waste generation within the
proposed office building.

15

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

Prevention

Minimise

Reuse

Recyling

Energy recovery

Disposal

Figure 1: Waste minimisation techniques used in the building

Paper waste
Paper waste is one kind of waste which generates frequently in this office. Following
steps are followed to reduce paper waste.

Try to use both sides of a sheet of paper for printing, copying, writing and
drawing.

16

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

Reusing paper that's already printed on one side by manually feeding it into
copiers and printers. Using it for internal documents like drafts and short-lived
items such as meeting agendas or temporary signs.

Once-used paper can also be reused in plain paper fax machines since they
only need one clean side.

E-mail will be used to share documents and ideas. Instruction will be given to
print only the e-mails which need to have a hard copy. This advice goes for
Internet documents as well. Instead of printing a web page, bookmark it or save
the page on the hard drive and pull it up when needed.

Electronic media such as Desktop fax, electronic references (CD-ROM

databases), electronic data storage, electronic purchasing and direct deposit will
be used where possible.

Help minimizing misprints by posting a diagram on how to load special paper

like letterhead so it will be printed correctly.

Practice efficient copying use the size reduction feature offered on many
copiers. Two pages of a book or periodical can often be copied onto one standard
sheet.

Use reusable inter- and intra-office envelopes.

Reuse old paper for notepads. It can be cut to custom sizes and simply bound
with a staple.

Draft documents can be reviewed, edited and shared on-screen.

Plastic waste

Unless there is some kind of contamination crisis, plastic water bottles are an
easy target for reducing waste. Instead, keep a refillable bottle handy or use water
filters.

17

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

Plastic baggies, plastic wrap, and plastic storage containers are worth reevaluating. So all of the staff will be encouraged to use reusable storages for their
day to day requirements.

Bring own food container for takeout and leftovers.

Source Reduction of waste

EPA defines source reduction (also known as waste prevention) as activities designed to
reduce the volume or toxicity of waste generated, including the design and manufacture
of products with minimum toxic content, minimum volume of material, and/or a longer
useful life. An example of source reduction is bringing a reusable bag to the grocery
store.
Accordingly it is proposed to reduce waste where it is generated. Following steps are
proposed for it.
Table 07: Source reduction of work plan for customers and organization staff.
For Customers

For Organization

Bring only what they need

Bring only what they need

Bring
products

reusable

or

refillable

Reduce office paper waste by

implementing a formal policy to
double-side all draft reports, and by
making
personnel

training

manuals

information

and

available

electronically.

18

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

Improve product design to use less

materials.
Bring products with less packaging

Reduce all forms of packaging

waste:

Redesigning

packaging

to

eliminate excess material while

maintaining strength.

Bring their own bag

Purchase products in bulk.

Keep mailing lists current.

Recycleing
Recycling means separating, collecting, processing, marketing, and ultimately using a
material that would otherwise have been thrown away. Quality products and packaging
are being made from recycled materials that have been recovered from the waste stream.
We can all promote recycling by buying and using recycled products.
Some of the benefits of recycling are as follows
Recycling reduces air and water pollution/emissions associated with landfilling and
incineration.

Recycling conserves our natural resources such as timber, water, and minerals because it
reduces the need for raw materials.

Recycling saves energy

Recycling decreases emissions

19

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

Recycling helps sustain the environment for future generations.

Therefore it is proposed to send the following waste for recycling which generates
within the office
Paper
High-Grade Paper is usually generated in office environments and can earn recycling
revenues
Corrugated cardboard
Includes unbleached, unwaxed paper with a ruffled (corrugated) inner liner. It usually
does not include linerboard or pressboard, such as cereal boxes and shoe boxes. For most
business, cardboard is a cost-effective material to recycle.

Newspaper
It is most valued when separated from other paper types, but can be recycled as mixed
waste paper.
Glass
Color-separated
This includes all container glass that is separated into clear, green, and brown. This will
be sent for reducing agencies.
Mixed Color
This is same as color-separated glass except clear, green, and brown glass are mixed
together.

20

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

Plastic
There are 7 types of plastics that are identified by the Society of Plastics Industry (SPI)
code number ranging from 1 to 7. These numbers are usually found on the bottom of
plastic containers inside a three-arrow recycling symbol.
According to that suitable plastics for recycling shall be sorted and sell it.

10.

Temporary Storage Method

Only food wastes are storaged in air conditioned container as described above.

Other type of waste are sorted in separate collectors and recycle/dispose

accordingly.

11.

Waste transfer system to final collection chamber.

Sort the waste.

Collect waste at each floor by cleaners and send it to main collection storage at
Ground Floor.

Separate recyclable waste from other waste.

Dispose organic waste to Municipal solid waste trucks.

Sell recyclable waste.

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Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

12.

Miscellaneous

computation

of

the

waste

stream

and

containerization.
Densities of wastes are mentioned in the table below.
(Source: www.epa.vic.gov.au)
Table 08: Densities of the waste generated in the building
Waste Material

Density -kilograms per cubic metre

Low

Medium

Compacted

Paper

76

152

228

Cardboard Compacted Dry

130

130

130

Cardboard -Compacted Wet

260

260

260

Cardboard -Loose Dry

55

55

55

Cardboard -Loose Wet

190

190

190

Cardboard -Waxed

55

92

130

Food -Kitchen

343

514

1029

Food -Dense

514

1029

1029

Vegetation -Garden

91

227

445

Garden -Grass

91

227

445

Garden -Trees

150

450

900

Foam

30

30

90

Tyres -Rubber

200

200

400

Other -Rubber

200

200

400

Glass

411

411

411

Glass Jars

250

250

411

Plastic bags

39

78

156

Plastic -Hard

72

72

72

Polystyrene

14

21

28

Garbage Bags

87

170

348

Metal -Ferrous

120

120

120

22

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

Metal Non Ferrous

139

139

139

Low Level Contaminated Soil

922

922

922

Clean fill / Soil

950

950

950

Rubble

1048

1048

1048

Clay

1150

1150

1150

Concrete

830

830

830

Tiles

900

1500

2000

Bricks

828

828

828

Sand

1000

1000

1000

Asphalt

680

680

680

Plasterboard

227

227

227

Linoleum

100

150

350

Insulation

60

100

350

Clinical Waste

227

227

227

Electronics

105

113

120

Batteries

900

1000

1500

Fluorescent Tubes

285

285

285

Sawdust

250

300

350

Cement Sheets

830

830

830

According to the densities, daily waste volumes are calculated. It is assumed that the waste are
medium compacted.
Table 09: Amounts of waste generated in the building.
Type of waste

Paper Waste
Food waste

Waste
Generation
per
day
(kg)
12.15
85.05

Waste Density
( kg/m3)

152
514

Waste
Generation
volume per day
(liter)
79.98
165.54

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Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

Construction
and 12.15
demolition waste

828

14.68

Metals
Plastics
Electronic waste

1.21
6.07
0.61

120
170
113

10.08
35.92
5.42

Yard waste
Other
Total

3.64
0.61

220

16.51
328.13

Choosing of suitable waste bins

There are different kinds of waste bins available in the market.
Dustbins at each room
It is proposed to keep partitioned dustbins at each room. Partitioned dustbins help not
only to sort the waste but also to reduce the space required for several dustbins.

Figure 2: .. dustbins to be used in the building.

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Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

Main collection bins at each floor

Wheel mounted Collector bins are located in each floor. It is proposed to use 45 litre
dustbins at each floor.

Figure 03 : sample dustbin for main collection bins

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Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

Figure 04: wheel mounted dustbin to be used in the building

Calculation for the requirement of dustbins

Dustbin requirement is calculated according to the waste accumulation rate and waste collection
periods. Calculations shown in the table below, assumption.
Table 10: Number of dustbins required for the building.
Type of waste

Waste
Waste
Generation
Collection
volume per day period
(liter)
(day)
Paper Waste
79.98
3
Food waste
165.54
2
Construction and 14.68
5
demolition waste

Waste
accumulation
(litre)
239.94
331.08
73.40

Volume of No
of
waste
Dustbins
bucket
required
(litre)
45
6 Nos
45
8 Nos
45
2 Nos

Metals
Plastics
Electronic waste

10.08
35.92
5.42

15
5
15

151.2
179.60
81.20

45
45
45

4 Nos
4 Nos
2 Nos

Yard waste

16.51

82.55

45

2 Nos

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Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

Placing of main collection bins

Table 11: Dustbin arrangement of the building.
Floor

Food

Paper

Constructi

Metals

Waste

Waste

on Waste

Ground

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Floor

(2 Nos)

(1 Nos)

(1 Nos)

First

Yes

Yes

No

Floor

(1 Nos)

(1 Nos)

Second

Yes

Yes

Floor

(1 Nos)

(1 Nos)

Third

Yes

Yes

Floor

(1 Nos)

(1 Nos)

Forth

Yes

Yes

Floor

(1 Nos)

(1 Nos)

Fifth

Yes

Yes

Floor

(1 Nos)

(1 Nos)

Sixth

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Floor

(1 Nos)

(1 Nos)

(1 Nos)

(1 Nos)

Plastics

E-

Yard

Glass

Waste

Waste

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

(1Nos)

(1 Nos)

(1 Nos)

(1 Nos)

(1 Nos)

No

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

(1 Nos)

(1 Nos)

(1 Nos)

(1 Nos)
No

No

Yes

Yes

(1 Nos)

(1 Nos)

No

Yes
(1 Nos)

No

No

Yes

Yes

(1 Nos)

(1 Nos)

No

Yes
(1 Nos)

27

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

13.

Implementation Programme
Keep Dusbins at each room (with sorting facilities)

Collect dusbins at each room at the evening,sort and place

them in collection bins

If it is food waste place them in Air conditioned containers till

it dispose to Municipal solid waste trucks

Other waste which are ready to recycle, place them separetely

to give collectors

Yard waste shall be used to make compose

Electronic waste shall be given to authorised persons for

disposal

Construction waste shall be given to a relevant collectors for

safe disposal

28

Proposed NRW Office Building at Maligakanda

29