Australian-Sri Lankan University partnerships to develop community-based waste recycling businesses

The project on “Australian-Sri Lankan University partnerships to develop community-based waste recycling businesses” is selected to work in-collaboration with the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Jaffna. This project will be manage by Professor Caroline Baillie, Randika Jayasinghe and Eric Feinblatt from the University of Western Australia while local Universities as collaborating partners from the University of Moratuwa, University of Jaffna and University of Sri Jayewardenepura. The implementation partner is waste of life.

Summary of the project: Un-managed solid waste is a serious social, environmental, health and political concern in urban areas of Sri Lanka. Findings from the three-year Sri Lankan feasibility study (Jayasinghe et al, 2013) indicate that recycling waste to address these issues also offers opportunities for local economic development. Product design, prototyping and manufacturing are sparse due to the absence of affordable machinery, technological skills and knowledge of manufacturing processes and design protocols. The University of Western Australia, together with the Universities of Moratuwa and Sri Jayewardenepura in the Western province of Sri Lanka, the University of Jaffna in the post-conflict Northern province, and the organization Waste For Life (WFL), aim to develop a unique capacity building educational program that supports development of novel community-based composite waste recycling and manufacturing businesses, positively contributing to local economies and environmental health – specifically clean air, water and sanitation.