In a landfill site at Pallakkadudu Sri Lanka, 2 elephants were found dead this week. About 20 elephants have died in 8 years after eating plastic. There are 54 waste dumps in wildlife zones around the island. Landfill sites should be recycled and maintained to protect wildlife from entering.

Examinations of the dead animals showed they had swallowed large amounts of nondegradable plastic, said Nihal Pushpakumara, a wildlife vet.

This waste management site in Pallakkadu was set up in 2008 with aid from the EU. At the site in Pallakkadudu in 2014, the electric fence protecting the site was struck by lightning and authorities never repaired it, allowing elephants to enter and rummage through the dump, causing this death of 20 elephants.

In 2017, the Sri Lankan government announced it will recycle the garbage in dumps near the wildlife zones to prevent elephants from consuming plastic waste. This has not been done.

Elephants matter! The Government needs to act.