Abstract:
Disasters cause substantial damage around the world. This causes serious environmental
and economic burden on normal living conditions, reconstruction and general waste
collection processes. Within this context, waste management has emerged as a critical issue in
responding to a disaster. Thus, this paper addresses post disaster waste management strategies
adopted in developing countries and applicability of best global practices in respect of challenges
encountered. Comprehensive literature review and fi eld survey among national level institutes
in Sri Lanka were conducted to gather information and semi-structured interviews were used
as a method of data collection. The fi ndings revealed that strategies, issues and challenges are
varying according to type of disaster, magnitude, location, country etc. Further, poor implementation
of prevailing rules and regulations; poor standards of local expertise and capacities, inadequate
funds, lack of communication and coordination are identifi ed as key issues encountered
