The Ma Oya river in Sri Lanka has been polluted with toner, due to the local practice of washing used toner cartridges and other discarded computer parts in the water.
As News1st reports, despite a poster campaign by local authorities in the Sindhaanthriya area to boost awareness about the importance of protecting the river, “the current situation is rather disappointing.”
Local residents had been employed as part of a regional “racket” by a Kochchikade-based “business entity” to wash used toner cartridges, disposed polythene waste and discarded computer parts in the Ma Oya, resulting in the contamination of the river by toner. When questioned, the residents explained they were “unaware that the toner they were mixing with the river water is harmful to the river and the surrounding ecosystem.”
Saman Lenaduwa, Director of the North Western Provincial Environment Authority, revealed that the Marine Environment Protection Authority “took direct action” and the practice has now been prohibited; however, he went on to note that it was “difficult to build a case against the perpetrators due to lack of evidence.”
The Wennappuwa Divisional Secretary, Sujeewa Fernando, said that she had “no knowledge” of the racket, but subsequently assured the media that she had “personally intervened” and “was able to put a stop to the operation”, in collaboration with the Marine Environment Protection Authority.
