Elephants are Dying from Eating Plastic in Sri Lanka
Twenty elephants have died from plastic ingestion in Sri Lanka in the last eight years. All of the deceased elephants were discovered with stomachs full of non-degradable plastics like food packaging and polythene. After ingesting too much plastic, the elephants could no longer take in any food or water, making them weaker until their eventual passing.
Source: AP News
This is an incredibly agonizing way to die and, unfortunately, something that will only worsen without immediate intervention. Two more elephants were found dead from rummaging through the dump in Pallakkadu village in Ampara district in the past few weeks. Despite promises to rectify the situation, the government has made no progress in protecting wildlife like elephants from plastic pollution. Let’s look at the timeline of how this situation became so dire.
The Waste Management Timeline in Sri Lanka
2008: The landfill in Pallakkadu village was created to aid the European Union’s waste management. Nine nearby villages also contribute to the waste being dumped in this site, none of which is recycled.
2014: The electric fence around the Pallakkadu village was struck by lightning and never repaired. This fence was the only thing keeping wildlife from entering the dumpsite to eat through garbage. At this point, elephants started moving in on the dump and settling nearby, causing more human-elephant conflict in the region.
“Even though we call them a menace, wild elephants are also a resource. Authorities need to come up with a way to protect both human lives and the elephants that also allows us to continue our agricultural activities,”
said Keerthi Ranasinghe, local village councilor
2017: The government announced that they were going to put more resources into recycling plastic in landfills near wildlife zones to prevent elephants from eating garbage. At the same time, the government promised to install working electric fences around all of the dumps near wildlife zones. Neither of these initiatives have been implemented completely.
2022: Today, there are 54 dump sites in wildlife zones, with more than 300 wild elephants accessing them daily.
Source: Phys.org
The Future of Sri Lankan Elephants
Without intervention, the wild Sri Lankan elephant population will continue falling victim to the abundance of plastic pollution on the island. However, this is not just an issue that concerns Sri Lanka. With many large countries sending their waste overseas to avoid dirtying their own country, we are all responsible for this mess. Too many people are under the false impression that once our garbage is out of sight, it’s gone. Unfortunately, it never truly is. The waste we create today could be the final piece of plastic that an endangered animal consumes before dying from a gut full of garbage.
Source: 9News
The first step in moving forward is to reduce the amount of waste going to landfills. This is the only way to make managing the abundance of garbage already at dumps and implementing recycling plans more manageable. Then, we must rebuild fencing to keep large animals like elephants out. Only at this point will we start getting a handle on this widespread problem.
The last component contributing here is the lack of resources remaining on our planet for wildlife. With continued human development, farming, and a changing climate, the amount of space and food available for wildlife is dwindling. This is what’s forcing them to enter into a human settlement in the first place.
Without addressing the root of the problem and implementing multi-step solutions, we will not make headway. If you want to find a way to prevent these kinds of tragedies in the future, try reducing your plastic waste when possible! Use biodegradable and compostable packaging, and encourage your local government to recycle and manage waste responsibly.