Following the prestigious ‘Siri Dalada Vandanawa’ special exposition, an overwhelming 625 tonnes of waste has accumulated at Kandy’s Gohagoda landfill, creating significant environmental challenges for the historic city.

During a recent inspection of the increasingly strained facility, Kandy Municipal Commissioner Indika Kumari Abeysinghe announced plans to collaborate with the Colombo Municipal Council to incinerate the massive waste buildup.

The sacred Tooth Relic exposition, which lasted 10 days and marked the first such ceremony in 16 years, was organized at the request of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. The event attracted thousands of devotees to Kandy, resulting in heavily littered streets that prompted numerous public and private organizations to volunteer for cleanup efforts.

This waste management crisis compounds Kandy’s existing disposal challenges, as the city continues to struggle with limited landfill capacity. The infrastructure for managing waste disposal faced unprecedented pressure due to the scale of this significant cultural and religious event.