Kandy city is one of the most beautiful cities in Sri Lanka enriched with cultural and heritage values. Moreover, this city has a unique landscape that is surrounded by mountain ranges and rich in biodiversity. On World Clean-up Day (17th September 2022), the Zero Plastic Movement organized a Clean-up project in Kandy intending to make this city a clean and healthier place by preserving its historical importance.

Many locals visit Kandy for their daily work as it is of the main cities in Sri Lanka and also foreign visitors never miss to include Kany city in their tour plan. The risk of pollution is very high in this city when considering the population and also, tons of garbage get collected daily within the Kandy city limit. Hence, the main objective of this World Clean-up Day event was to get community involvement to create a healthy, clean and safe environment in Kandy city considering it as a self-responsibility of each person. Through this project, the Zero Plastic movement raised awareness for proper waste disposal, waste management, and the promotion of recycling waste. Especially, their attention was on the mitigation of plastic pollution to make this city a healthier and more attractive place.

The volunteers of the Zero Plastic Movement and the community made World Clean-up day very significant in Kandy city by working together to make positive changes in behaviour and attitudes to save nature and protect the environment.

D.K.P.G. Yashodha Swarnamali Polgolla

Open University of Sri Lanka