Proceedings Sardinia 2005, Tenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy; 3 - 7 October 2005  2005 by CISA, Environmental Sanitary Engineering Centre, Italy SOLID WASTES ARISE FROM THE ASIAN TSUNAMI DISASTER AND THEIR REHABILITATION ACTIVITIES: CASE STUDY OF AFFECTED COASTAL BELTS IN SRI LANKA AND THAILAND B.F.A BASNAYAKE* C. CHIEMCHAISRI ** AND M.I.M. MOWJOOD* * Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka ** Department of Environmental Engineering, Kasetsart University, Thailand SUMMARY: Field surveys revealed that the management of solid wastes produced from the Tsunami disaster has been somewhat different in both of these countries. Sri Lanka having a higher population densities in the coastal belts in comparison to Thailand, lacked infrastructure and management capabilities to dispose safely the wastes soon after the disaster. In both of the countries, recycling activities are taking place. The major constraint is the lack of suitable lands for final disposal and new approaches are required. 1. INTRODUCTION It is indeed a grave loss and a sad feeling to see the heaps of debris reminding the sufferance caused by the Tsunami disaster on the 26 th of December 2004. The efforts made to clear the debris are a tribute to the locals as well as the volunteers from nearby and far distant countries. They would have shifted the estimated burden of well over 0.5 million tones of rubble and waste materials in Sri Lanka (UNEP report, 2005). In the absence of proper disposal facilities prior to the tsunami, the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) of Sri Lanka directed the emergency efforts to deposit these wastes in open areas such as playgrounds until proper sites for disposal are identified and ordered to stop burning of these wastes. Nevertheless, it resulted in haphazard dumping of wastes polluting the groundwater. Like in Sri Lanka, Tsunami disaster caused tremendous damage to life and property in Thailand, left thousands homeless and the social impact is considerable that includes loss of coastal people’s careers. The disaster also left over huge amounts of solid wastes arising from the destruction of buildings and roads, infectious waste from the dead human and animal bodies and unmanage municipal solid wastes generated daily in the affected area. Some part of solid wastes was swept into the sea whereas the remainder was left over on the coastal area. The target of rehabilitating the affected tourist area in Thailand has been set as the priority works by Thai government with strong effort to recover the situation back to normal as soon as possible. Many local and international organizations have put their joint effort to rehabilitate the affected area