CITY and town authorities in Bangladesh collect, carry and dump solid wastes from households in a segregated way. The National Environment Committee recently underpinned the necessity of separate perishable and imperishable wastes collection, transportation, and disposal taking into account the health risks of people and the protection of land and water bodies.
Dhaka’s solid waste management system has seen no major improvement in recent years despite various initiatives taken by the two city corporations. The two city corporations dispose solid wastes at two landfills at Aminbazar and Matuail. They are unable to process solid wastes properly by applying the traditional landfill method. Both city corporations have of late taken initiatives in collaboration with international donor agencies and the Local Government Division to process solid waste using modern methods. The steps include community-based waste management activities, development of sanitary landfill, medical waste treatment plant and waste-based power plant.
Urban planners say roughly 40 per cent wastes generated in the country are dumped in a haphazard manner. These include medical wastes, electrical and electronic wastes, construction wastes and kitchen wastes. As medical waste contains parasites and chemicals, waste collectors should treat the same separately and cautiously. The city authorities should take initiatives to setup plants for recycling as well as treatment of waste before disposal. Dumping waste into land is environmentally hazardous as they foul emit odour which is a health hazard. Against this backdrop the city corporation authorities should on an urgent basis pursue an offer from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to setup a power plant based on kitchen wastes and thus get rid of a large chunk of perishable waste they collect. These wastes to be used in the said power plant would turn into organic fertilizer which would be on high demand for urban agriculture.
The capital city Dhaka looks worse than many district towns. The authorities find themselves in no work and all play situation. No care for showing their own competence for the positions they are holding lucratively.
